MERIDIAN - Ronald O. Moller, 59, of Meridian, passed away Wednesday, April 25, 2007.

A memorial service was held Friday, May 4, at Cloverdale Funeral Home. Services were under the direction of Cloverdale Funeral Home.

Ronald was born in Rupert, Idaho, to Olaf and Aenon Graham Moller on April 7, 1948. His father, Olaf, was a renowned Idaho landscape artist, which provided Ron many scenic and memorable getaways throughout his youth. Ron particularly loved the summer sojourns with his family to the Tetons and Sawtooth Mountain ranges. His mother, Aenon, a high school English teacher, used her summers to take her family and follow her husband to the picturesque mountains of Idaho and Wyoming. There were also painting expeditions to the East Coast in the fall.

Ron attended grade school in Rupert, junior high school in Paul and graduated from Minico High School in 1966. He went on to attend college at Idaho State University and eventually Boise State University. In the late '60s, he began a lifetime friendship with John Lodi, whom he considered his spiritual teacher and mentor. He traveled to Europe after school and lived in New York before coming back to Idaho and his hometown. Once home, he started a business on part of his family's farm. Resurrecting the old red barn on the original family homestead, he called his new endeavor "The Food Barn." It specialized in fresh produce, imported cheeses, wines and New York-style deli sandwiches. He later moved to Hawaii, where he co-owned and operated a restaurant for many years. He moved back to Boise and started working as a car salesman and lease manager at Dennis Dillion, Edmark and recently at Wholesale Auto Brokers. He had a great big heart and was a wonderful salesman. His customers were very loyal and kept coming back to him year after year. He was voted Salesman of the Year in 1996 at Dennis Dillon.

Ron was a very spiritual person, and his belief in God was very strong within him and carried him through a lot of difficult times. He married Linda Howard in 1997 and gained an immediate family he loved very much. They returned that love as well. Ron and Linda shared a love for golf and spent many days on the golf course. They traveled on golf vacations to St. George, Utah, quite a few times and also to Hawaii.

When the grandchildren started arriving, he realized just how wonderful and fulfilling being a grandparent could be. He spent many hours supporting Ryan and Tyler at football, basketball and baseball games.

However, his favorite thing was teaching them how to play golf and, when they got older, golfing with them. Their next favorite thing was riding in "Papa's hot rod," a restored cherry red 1965 Chevy Malibu Super Sport. They always begged him to go faster. Ron will be sorely missed by all who loved him but especially by those two little boys who meant the world to him.

Ron is survived by his wife, Linda Howard of Meridian; stepchildren, Tonya Haun of Meridian, Joy (Dan) Babcock of Boise, and JW (Jeanette) Stevens of Ann Arbor, Mich.; grandsons, Ryan and Tyler Haun; sister, Marti (Don) Friesen; and nieces, Heather (Dustin) Carson and Tiffany (Trevor) Parke, all of Rupert; mother-in-law, Betty R. Gray of Caldwell; father-in-law, Fay Howard of Caldwell; and brothers-in-law, Robert (Brenda) Howard of Middleton and Larry Howard of Caldwell. He was preceded in death by both parents and a nephew, Shaun Friesen.