Ronna Panek Abbott

Ronna Panek Abbott died peacefully in her sleep, on Friday, April 11, 2025. Her sister Karen was with her. Ronna had been in Hospice for only one week. This was her second Hospice stay, the first in 2018, at Fairport, NY’s Advent House, where she actually recovered from T-cell Lymphoma and went home. As difficult as her passing is, we were given seven “bonus” years following her last miraculous recovery. This was precious time for Ronna’s family and friends.

Ronna was born in Chicago to Evelyn and Ralph Panek, and grew up with her sisters, Judith and Karen in Arlington Heights, IL. After attending both the University of Iowa and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ronna moved to NYC, where she lived for 30 years. Ronna also attended Columbia University. While in NY, Ronna found All Souls Unitarian Church on Lexington Avenue, where she met many great friends.

After many successful years in sales, Ronna joined the Peace Corp and was sent to Lesotho, in Africa (a small mountain kingdom, within the borders of South Africa). Ronna lived in a small home without electricity or plumbing. She planted a garden and met her neighbors. Ronna wanted to help the children practice English, which was taught in school. Ronna hired two young girls, Mary and Elizabeth, to help her clean, so she could help them with their English. She realized her greatest gift was to help local children pay for school, which isn’t free in Lesotho. Ronna sponsored many children, and later their children, to help them have better futures, by going to elementary school, high school, and trade school. Some went to college, Hlokomelang came to America on scholarships and Ronna’s home was his home here. None of these children have had an easy life, even with the benefit of schooling. Ronna worked with them as much as possible to help them succeed.

Ronna was a lifetime learner, a member of the Unitarian Church (in NYC, Oklahoma City, Rochester, NY and Charlotte, NC), a member of “Friends of Lesotho” and a member of JASNA, the Jane Austen Society. She loved to read non-fiction and mysteries for fun. For many summers Ronna went to Chautauqua Institution with her friends from Rochester.

Ronna loved to travel and went on many safaris (as you know from her tee shirts). She went to Egypt, China, England, Romania, and to the Czech Republic & Germany, her family’s heritage. She also loved genealogy, so visiting the small town where her family emigrated from in 1874 was a special trip. “Finding your Roots” on PBS was a favorite show.

Gardening was also her passion, she loved working outside in the dirt. When Ronna moved to Charlotte, NC, she found the Historic Rosedale Plantation, on N. Tryon Street and became a dedicated volunteer in their garden, pulling weeds and fighting the Creeping Charlie.

Ronna is survived by her two daughters, son-in-law, two grandchildren, a niece, nephew, her younger sister, brother-in-law, and cousins. Keeping in touch and visiting her family was important. Ronna is also survived by her many children in Africa. She will be missed by those who knew her and shared her passions.