Ronald David Zellner

Ronald (Ron) D. Zellner, PhD, Associate Professor Emeritus (1941–2026), was born and raised in North Tonawanda, New York. This Renaissance man was loved and will be deeply missed by his wife of 55 years, his sons, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, friends, colleagues, and former students.

Ron held many degrees and occupations throughout his lifetime. In his early career, he was a chemist and specialized in organic research chemistry. He also spent time as an electronics research technician building jukeboxes for the Wurlitzer Company in New York, and as a mechanical research technician in aircraft and aerospace research at Bell Aerosystems, where among other projects he worked on electrical components related to the Apollo 11and 12 missions.

In the late 1960s he headed west to Arizona to attend Arizona State University (ASU), where he lived and worked on a ranch in Apache Junction, giving horseback tours to help pay for the next phase of his education. He earned a B.S. in Psychology, an M.A. as well as a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. During this time, he married Luana, the love of his life. Upon completing his education at ASU, he accepted his first faculty position at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in Greeley, Colorado.

In the early 1970s, Ron discovered a passion for combining his love for research in the field of educational psychology with his interests in technology. The result was a career that spanned four-decades. At UNC in 1973, he established one of the first educational technology programs in the country. In 1984, he created the Educational Technology program at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Ron led that program for nearly three decades and was an active member of the American Educational Research Association, as well as numerous national and international organizations dedicated to research in educational technology. As a member of the Apple Distinguished Educators program, his interests expanded into video-based learning and the use of emerging Apple technologies to enhance the integration of technology, practice, and assessment in education.

In retirement, his interests extended into the art world. He studied sculpture design and techniques, creating life-size animal sculptures from copper metal that reflected his deep love of nature and empathy for animals of all kinds. Ron was a lifelong learner who delighted in exploring every new technology that came to market. His creative instincts, curiosity, kindness, razor-sharp wit, and indelible sense of humor were among the qualities most cherished by those who knew him.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Norma and John Zellner and his brother

Dennis Zellner, all from North Tonawanda, New York. He is survived by his wife, Luana J. Zellner; his sons, David J. Zellner and Nathan S. Zellner; Nathan’s wife, Megan Zellner; two beloved grandchildren, Alice Caroline Zellner and Maxwell Charles Zellner of Austin, Texas; his brother, John Zellner of North Tonawanda, New York; his cousins, Linda and George La Mountain of Phoenix, Arizona; and Susan Warblow Jensen of North Tonawanda, New York.