Floyd Ronald Jenkins' Obituary
FLOYD RONALD JENKINS was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in the summer of 1944, and died in Covington in the summer of 2024, at the age of 80. He was an astute international businessman, an accomplished photographer, a lover of history, an insatiable reader, and an explorer. He collected antiques almost involuntarily, not for their value, but because they allowed him to intersect physically with a past that enthralled him. He was once described as a “walking encyclopedia.” In conversation, he could summon startling amounts of accurate, detailed knowledge of almost any topic, however obscure it may have been. He moved seamlessly through all cultures and social classes, but his concern was always for the overlooked, misunderstood and downtrodden among us. Ron grew up in rural Louisiana, at the end of a long, gravel road lined with oaks and Spanish moss. He was blessed with wonderful parents who he adored. His father Floyd was a master welder in a Madisonville shipyard, and his mother Mildred a Sunday school teacher at the local Church of God. He had a classic southern boyhood. He earned pocket money by picking cotton, was once treed by a dog determined to snatch his grandmother Grace’s bread roll from his hand, made cane syrup the old fashioned way in a mill, and loved a horse named King. He attended grade school at Lee Road, Covington High School and Southeastern University, but his mind rebelled against traditional classroom education. He entered the Army National Guard at Fort Polk, and the private sector workforce as a doorman at a local office of computer company Sperry Univac, where someone recognized and helped him to release what his teachers could not: his genius. He met the love of his life, Molly Dixon, working on a NASA space program, and wooed her in a yellow Mustang. Against the odds, Ron made his own path, building a brilliant career in international business, succeeding in senior assignments with multinational corporations in Mexico, Singapore, Hong Kong, England, the Netherlands and Australia, with forays into most countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and what was then the Soviet Union. He dressed impeccably, and worked at full throttle, never giving less than 100%. He took us with him, and together we filled our lives with adventure - skiing across a glacier from Switzerland into Italy, scaling an ancient temple in Central Java, shooting the rapids and crashing through a waterfall in the Philippines, trekking on camels through the Northwest Territory in Australia, walking in Shinto gardens in Japan. He retired to Louisiana, where his childhood love of horses emerged again, and led him to volunteer as photographer for the New Orleans Polo Club, and on the Board of New Heights Therapeutic Riding Center, working with horses to help children and adults with special needs. He rescued two abandoned dogs in succession, and they were among his closest companions. He had a beautiful laugh, and passions for Hemingway, Michener, Andrew Lloyd Weber, photography, good food, skiing, salty jokes and Greenings Island, Maine. But most of all, he loved, and was loved by, and will always be loved by, his family. He burned like a bright comet, and was no dim light. When we close our eyes, we still see the afterimage, but he has left us now to explore new worlds. Ron is survived by his beloved wife of 56 years Molly Dixon Jenkins, his son Ron and daughter-in-law Jennifer, his daughter Amy and son-in-law Stephen Stewart, his son Jesse and daughter-in-law Kelcie Kraft-Jenkins, his grandchildren India, Adrian, Evangeline, Charles, Marjorie, Romany, Kael and Larkyn, his brother Dale Jenkins and sister-in-law Brenda, their children Misty, Beau and Natalie, his sister-in-law JoEllen Wolcott and brother-in-law Steve, their children Mathew and Stephanie, his brother-in-law Marvin Moyers and sister-in-law Jenny, their children Jarred and Megan, by aunts, uncles and numerous cousins, by cherished friends, and by a large network of acquaintances.
Celebration of Life
Please join us for a celebration of Ron’s life on the afternoon of Saturday, July 20, 2024, at the Estate at Charropin Beach, 125 Lee Lane, in Covington, Louisiana.
1pm Welcome 1pm-2pm Drinks, hors d’oeuvres, music and family photographs 2:30pm Remarks by family and dear friends 3:30pm Conclusion
In lieu of flowers or other gifts, please consider making a donation to the New Heights Therapeutic Riding Center at https://www.newheightstherapy.org
Remembrances may be posted at https://www.ejfieldingfh.com.
What’s your fondest memory of Floyd?
What’s a lesson you learned from Floyd?
Share a story where Floyd's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Floyd you’ll never forget.
How did Floyd make you smile?