07/25/2021
Ronald Disney Ciaravella
1948 – 2021
Ron Ciaravella crossed his last finish line on Monday, July 19th while traveling with his wife Shannon in California. A man who personified his motto, "Go fast and be happy because life is short,” Ron lived a full and generous life and enriched our community and all who knew him.
Ron gave of his time, wisdom and resources to so many – over the past twenty years he awarded more than 100 scholarships to deserving local teens on their way to college, served on the board of Mote Marine for two decades, was president of the board of The Sarasota Ballet, supported and participated in the Wellness Community, Tiger Bay Club, the Argus Foundation, the Florida Bar Grievance Committee, la Musica International Chamber Music Festival, Florida Winefest and countless other service, political and philanthropic organizations.
Ron began his professional aviation career at 19 as a flight instructor at Dolphin Aviation, eventually working his way up to buy the company in 1979. As he said to the 2021 flight of Dolphin Aviation Scholarship recipients, “Opportunities don’t come to you, you go to them.” Academics were not the main factor in his scholarship selection process - he wanted to help hard-working latchkey students from single parent homes who needed the extra help launching their collegiate careers.
Ron was a latchkey kid himself, born in Ybor City, Florida to Paul and Beatrice Ciaravella in 1948. Both parents worked, his father as a tailor and his mother at a canning company, and they instilled in Ron the value of hard work. At an early age his entrepreneurial spirit burned bright, starting a lawn-mowing business and as it grew he vividly recalled how pulling his mower behind his bicycle to customers’ homes inspired his dreams of one day learning to fly.
And fly he did - on air, land and sea.
Ron joined the Air Force in 1969 as a Medical Service Specialist, stayed and was honorably discharged from the Air Force Reserves as a sergeant in 1974. He achieved pilot ratings on practically every business jet made. He raced a vintage 800-horesepower Pratt & Miller Spice GTP and twice won the Rolex Historic Sportscar Racing Association National Championship, in 1999 and 2003. Shannon and Ron were familiar sights on the water pushing the roaring small-block Corvette engines on their Baja Outlaw to the max.
Ron had the drive of a winner – on the racetrack and in business. He grew Dolphin Aviation’s size, scope and services tremendously, tripling the footprint from seven to twenty-five acres, multiplying hanger space by a factor of five and quadrupling the number of full-time employees. He also helped many promising businesses launch and grow successful through creating the Dolphin Aviation Commerce Center – an incubator that provided aviation entrepreneurs the opportunity to launch their businesses with his counsel and private investment banking support.
Ron’s business prowess also provided the foundation for his and Shannon’s legendary philanthropic efforts throughout our community.
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Ron Ciaravella of Dolphin Aviation and Dr. Michael Crosby of Mote Marine Laboratory in 2016. Photo: Rich Schineller
“Ron was a strong supporter and long-standing member of our Mote family, and was adored by Trustees and staff alike since joining the Board in the summer of 2001,” said Mote Marine Laboratory President & CEO Dr. Michael P. Crosby. “At a personal level, I felt that Ron had a great perspective on life, a keen understanding of the world around him, and always made me laugh - I really enjoyed his company, and he was always willing to do just about anything I asked of him for Mote.”
Ron is survived by his wife, Shannon; sister Antoinette (Alan) Goldey; son Chad (Lori) Ciaravella; daughter Lisa (Tatum) Ciaravella; and four grandchildren, Conor, Olivia, Blake and Elam.
A memorial service will be held at Dolphin Aviation at a future date to be announced.
Contact:
Rich Schineller
941.780.8100
[email protected]
