ST. CROIX — Friends and family remembered Ronald “Ranche” Charles for his genuine kindness, selfless contributions to the St. Croix community, and exceptional skills on the basketball court during a candlelight vigil Thursday night in D. Hamilton Jackson Park in Charles’ old Estate Grove Place neighborhood.
Charles, a husband, father, grandfather, and brother, was born in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up on St. Croix, where he honed his basketball skills as an original member of the Grove Place Pushers neighborhood team before playing college ball with the legendary Earvin “Magic” Johnson at Michigan State University.
A member of the Spartans when his roommate Johnson and Gregory Kelser led the team to win the 1979 NCAA championship game, Charles died suddenly on July 21 while recovering from knee surgery at his home in Atlanta. He was 65.
Elmo James, Charles’ oldest brother, who lived on St. Croix from 1979 to 1990, made the trip from his home in South Carolina to attend his brother’s funeral today at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Frederiksted that was followed with interment at Kingshill Cemetery.
“I’m here to celebrate my brother,” James told WTJX. “We already had a funeral in Atlanta where he was living ... and then we know we had to bring him home. So, it’s all in celebration of Ron Charles — ‘Ranche’ Charles.”
Kelser and some of the other Spartans who played on the 1979 championship team attended Charles’ funeral in Atlanta, James said. He said the family also received a condolence letter from Johnson and his wife, Earlitha “Cookie” Kelly.
“Everybody’s just totally upset and totally like, ‘I just can’t believe it’ because Ron is just a good guy,” he said.
James, while speaking about his little brother’s mild temperament, said the only time he heard Charles argue was when he would flip baseball cards with their brother, Gregory Charles.
“They’ll flip a baseball card in the ground, and face up, you win; face down, you lose,” James said, adding that they would argue and fight all the time. “They had big shoe boxes of baseball cards, but Ron was always fair. Ron was just a nice person. He was just nice.”
Gregory Charles, a St. Croix resident also known as “Dr. Chang,” recalled playing basketball with his brother when they were younger.
“‘Ranche’ turned [to] me one day, he said, ‘Doc, you see that stupid jump shot you do be making all the time? One of these days I’m going to hit you in the back of your head with that ball.’ I tell ‘Ranche,’ ‘not you, mehson, you cannot stop this jump shot.’”
As the months went by, Gregory Charles said his brother started getting bigger and bigger. He said one night when he took his jump shot, all he could see was his brother’s waist when he looked up.
“I started running, and ‘Ranche’ hit me right in the back of my head with the ball,” he said. “And that’s when I knew that this man was an icon of St. Croix.”
James, while speaking from the gazebo in the park during Thursday’s vigil, recalled a conversation he had with his brother about playing basketball with Johnson, one of the greatest point guards in NBA history who led the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships in the 1980s.
“He used to call me and say, ‘hey, man, you know what?’” James said. “I got hit in the head today with the ball again.”
When he asked his brother what happened, James said Charles told him about Johnson’s passing ability.
“He said, ‘because you gotta keep your eye on ‘Magic’ all of the time, because if you ain’t keeping your eye on ‘Magic’ and that ball come to you, it’s going to hit you if you don’t see it,’” James said. “He said, ‘sometimes that ball will be in my hand, and I don’t even know how it got there.’ That’s how good ‘Magic’ was and made him good as well.”
Donald Bough, who helped run a basketball league on island in the 1990s and 2000s named in honor of Ronald Charles, discussed a desire he, “Ranche,” and others had to resurrect the league. He said he would take the charge to do so to carry on “Ranche’s” legacy, noting the league provided a positive outlet for 300 children as 10 teams of 10 players competed in it.
Former Senator Usie Richards, who serves on the Central Board of the International Basketball Federation, or Federation International de Basketball (FIBA), was the first to speak during the vigil. He shared historical information about Ronald Charles with attendees who scattered throughout the park and congregated in front of the gazebo. He discussed the road Ronald Charles traveled during his basketball journey, noting it brought him attention “at home and abroad.”
When Ronald Charles was 15 years old, Richards said he was a member of the Virgin Islands junior national team. He said Ronald Charles and his teammates competed in Guatemala in 1974, winning a bronze medal — the first medal won on behalf of the Virgin Islands. He said Ronald Charles went on to play with the men’s national team in 1978, setting a record during the Central American and Caribbean Games that still stands after scoring 61 points against Barbados.
“His performance caught the eyes of the then-head coach of Michigan State, Jud Heathcothe, who recruited ‘Ranche’ to Michigan State, a place where he excelled — excelled to such a point that it wasn’t things that was given to him,” Richards said. “These was things that he worked for and achieved.”
Richards said it was during Ronald Charles’ senior year in college that he played in the 1979 NCAA championship game with the Spartans against Indiana State University, noting ISU was led by Larry Bird.
Johnson and Bird, a small forward who went on to play with the Boston Celtics, had an intense rivalry during the 1980s that captured the nation, and lifted the NBA at the time. Bird led the Celtics to three championships in the ’80s.
Richards, while discussing the caliber of player Bird was, said the Indiana native was known for scoring umpteen points against all kinds of basketball players.
“And if it wasn’t for Ronald Charles, Michigan State wouldn’t have walked away with the national championship,” he said.
Ronald Charles, who attended Michigan State University after graduating from St. Croix Central High School, was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 1980 NBA draft, but a breakdown in contract negotiations led him to a career playing basketball internationally in the Continental Basketball Association in Spain, Portugal, and France, according to his obituary. He also played in Italy before suffering a career-ending injury in 1989. After a career as a federal law enforcement officer, Ronald Charles retired from the Bureau of Prisons at the Atlanta Penitentiary.
Austin “Teacher” Williams, a retired physical education teacher who taught for 32 years at Eulalie R. Rivera PreK-8 School, was instrumental in spearheading the vigil to remember his childhood friend and former teammate from the Grove Place Pushers. He noted Ronald Charles’ talent on the court, and his kindness off the court.
“As good a basketball player he was, he was a better person,” Williams said, adding that Ronald Charles had a “big heart.”
Dennis Brow, who also played basketball in the neighborhood leagues, said Ronald Charles taught him the principles of the game. He recalled his friend’s personality too.
“‘Ranche’ was giving,” he said. “He appreciated people. He loved people. And this place called Grove Place, man, he had a passion for it; we all do. All Grovian love Grove Place; this is our home. And our true leader, Ron Charles; this is his home.”
Brow, who led the attendees while chanting “Ranche” during the vigil, recalled giving back to the community while picking up trash with Ron Charles in Grove Place.
“He just knew that he wanted to make Grove Place look beautiful, and we went out there with him,” Brow said. “And, you know, I’m just thankful for the experience. No one expected this, of course, but I’d like you guys to chant his name one more time please.”
