Ron Kadlik

July 18, 1943 – March 30, 1962

Ron Kadlik Dies in Auto Crash

Ronald Joseph Kadlik, 18, of 14 Birch Road in North Natick, was killed and three other youths were injured when the car in which they were riding struck the rear of a light truck parked on Waverly Street, Framingham, near the LaCantina club, shortly after 11 o’clock Friday evening.

George Palli, 18, of 25 Morse Street, driver and owner of the car, suffered a broken right arm. John A. Dagg, 20, and Victor A Parella, 18, both of Framingham, received lesser injuries.

The victim was the son of Mrs. Clara (Thompson) Kadlik. He was a native of Framingham but had lived in Natick most of his life, graduating from Natick High last year. He was attending his first year at Boston College School of Arts.

Besides his mother, he leaves a brother, Thomas, U.S. Navy, and a sister, Judith, who is a student at Natick High School.

The funeral was held on Tuesday morning from the John Everett and Sons Funeral Home, with a high mass of requiem at 9 o’clock in St. Zepherin’s Church at Cochituate. Interment was in St. Patrick’s Cemetery.

Natick Bulletin, April 5, 1962

Some thoughts of my friend Ron Kadlik

By George Palli

I would like to share some of my memories of Ron Kadlik who was a very close friend.

I don’t remember when I first met Ron although it was certainly at Natick High School. My earliest memory of Ron was his strong enthusiasm for, and total dedication to, all the many things that interested him. I also remember that, unlike me, Ron was a very good student.

I’m not sure when Ron lost his Dad, but I believe it was early in his life. Fortunately, he was able to grow up in a close-knit family consisting of an older brother, a younger sister and his mom. To this day, I still consider his mother, Claire, to be one of the finest people I have ever met. After Ron’s death, her letters to me and overall support were of tremendous help to me and enabled me to get through some very difficult times.

Although I have many fond memories of Ron and his family, one stands out above the others and that was our trip to Vermont with his mom for a foliage tour in the family’s newly-acquired Oldsmobile Super 88. Ron loved that car and did all of the driving on that trip and always with a big smile on his face. We had a great time.

I also remember Ron’s purple Ford convertible. I think it was a 1949 model but it might have been a 1950. He was always so proud and happy whenever he was driving his friends around in that classic car.

Ron and I often talked about the future. His plans were to graduate from college, get married, start a family and always work hard to provide for that family. He often told me how much he looked forward to being with his family and friends on holidays, especially Christmas.

I still remember when Ron got very interested in boxing. Cassius Clay, who, as we all know, later became known as Muhammad Ali, was Ron’s idol at the time and Ron would talk about him constantly.

Ron was extremely happy and proud when he got accepted to Boston College. His goal was to become a lawyer, and I remember how he would often joke about how at least one of my friends had to become a lawyer in order to save my ass on those frequent occasions when I got into trouble.

It’s been some 50 years since Ron’s passing and a lot of water has passed under the proverbial bridge, but my memories of Ron Kadlik are still quite vivid. If he were still with us today, I think he would be happy to see that I have indeed stayed out of trouble, been blessed with a wonderful family, and did OK in the business world.

One last memory: Some years after Ron had passed away, I remember being at the cemetery to visit his gravesite. I was with my son and daughter and was having great difficulty finding Ron’s gravestone. At one point, my then 12- year-old daughter asked me the name of the person whose grave I was looking for. When I said, Ronald Kadlik, she looked around and found the headstone almost immediately. When she asked who Ron was, I simply said he was a good friend.

Ron’s life ended far too soon. Sadly, his dreams of becoming an attorney and raising a family were never realized, and – like so many of you – I never got the chance to properly say goodbye to him. And so, if he can hear my words today, I’d like to say to him: “Goodbye, dear friend. I hope we meet again.