William (Bill) Ronchi

November 23, 2021

The strongest guy I ever knew. No one would have taken a bet that Bill Ronchi would live to 69… or 50, or 35, or even 20 years. Born with a grave health condition, it was expected that he would live to the age of 11 at most.

He was born the son of Victor Ronchi and Rose (Minora) Ronchi in Scranton on March 26, 1952, with a very serious heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, known more commonly as a "Blue Baby." Tetralogy of Fallot in Bill's case was a hole in his heart. Red blood and blue blood mixed, stealing the oxygen his organs needed to survive. Bill's lips, fingers and feet turned blue due to oxygen deprivation. He needed heart surgery, but the survival rate for open-heart surgery at that time was 5%.

Today, cardiac surgeons can completely repair this defect immediately after birth. But in the early 1950s there were many Blue Babies. The technology didn't exist to fix their heart, and they died. A significant surgical repair but temporary fix called the Blalock-Taussig shunt that provided the patient about 10 additional years of life became available.

Bill received his shunt at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia at the age of 5 years old which lasted 15 years. By 1972, medicine advanced further, and at 20 years old, Bill went through open-heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. This highly invasive and risky procedure involved removing his heart from his body to do the necessary repairs.

Bill's surgery was a success, and after an extensive recovery, Bill had newfound life and energy. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in communications. He had a passion for music and sports, and pursued this in radio, working as a DJ in college and beyond in Green Bay, Wisc. He later worked in communication sales. In 1992, he relocated back to Scranton and worked for Fidelity Bank. It was important for Bill to be back home and close to family and old friends.

In the early 2000s, the work done on his heart started to again fail as nature took its course. Over the last 20 years, he needed additional heart surgical procedures at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for artificial valves and a defibrillator. The doctors were amazed with Bill, as he was one of the oldest survivors of Tetralogy of Fallot from the 1950s.

He was a fighter and survivor. Everyone who knows Bill has appreciated his easy-going nature, a genuine good guy, loyal friend, trustworthy and an avid Green Bay Packers fan. He lived life at a disadvantage, but never complained, never expected a free lunch, believed he could do more than he really could, and was appreciative for what he had. He was born with a hole in his heart, but in the spirit of life his heart was whole, and his heart was full. He had the most giving and loving heart of all. He will be missed dearly.

Bill is survived by a brother, Bob Ronchi and his wife, Joanna of Henderson, Nev.; nieces and nephews, Jude Krady of Lancaster, Pa., Natalia Panza of Encinitas, Calif., Alexis Billings of Las Vegas, Victor Ronchi, Amil Ronchi and Zofia Ronchi, all of Henderson. Bill had many cousins he remained close to from both the Ronchi and Minora families.

Relatives and friends are invited to a memorial of his life Tuesday, Dec. 28 at Morell-La Belle Funeral Home at 301 Chestnut St., Dunmore, between the hours of 4 and 6 p.m. A Mass for Bill will be held at the Immaculate Conception Chapel at Taylor & Gibson Streets in Scranton at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29. Internment will immediately follow at the Italian-American Cemetery off Davis Street.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the American Heart Association at www.heart.org