Staten Island Advance (New York), May 20, 2008, Tuesday
Copyright 2008 Advance Publications, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Staten Island Advance (New York)
May 20, 2008, Tuesday
SECTION: OBITS; Pg. A08
HEADLINE: ALICE RONNE, 54
BODY:
Date of Death: 05/18/2008 First woman in NYC licensed to operate a crane Alice M. Ronne, 54, of Toms River, a longtime West Brighton resident and retired director of the Operating Engineers Union school and one of the first women in the city to hold a license to operate a crane, died Sunday at home.
A native Staten Islander, she was born Alice O'Connor and grew up in West Brighton. She spent much of her life there before relocating to Toms River two years ago.
A graduate of Wagner High School, she worked as a model as a young woman for Wanamaker's catalog.
She later went into the family business - construction - by joining Local 15 of the International Union of the Operating Engineers. She started out as a journeyman in the union and was one of the first women in the city to obtain a license to operate a crane, her family said.
Mrs. Ronne was later certified in labor studies and relations at the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She served as director of the training school for Operating Engineers Union in Queens before her retirement a little more than a year ago. She worked in the union for two decades.
She also served as a board member on Non-traditional Employment for Women (NEW) and on a labor relations task force formed by Gov. George Pataki.
Mrs. Ronne was a parishioner of Blessed Sacrament R.C. Church in West Brighton.
Her family said she loved to entertain and host parties at her home.
"She was an incredibly generous and hard-working woman," recalled her daughter, Jac'lynn Travis.
Surviving Mrs. Ronne in addition to her daughter, Jac'lynn Travis, are her husband of 32 years, Kerry Ronne; a son, Eric Ronne; a sister, Loretta Cannon; three brothers, James, John and Matthew O'Connor, and four grandchildren.
The funeral will be Thursday from the Harmon Home for Funerals, West Brighton, with a mass at 10 a.m. in Blessed Sacrament R.C. Church, West Brighton. Burial will be in the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Arneytown, N.J.
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