Ronald Eugene McCoy, 87, of rural Nelson, MO, passed away Sunday, December 28, 2025, at University Hospital and Clinics in Columbia.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, January 2, 2026, at Campbell-Lewis Funeral Home in Marshall with Rev. Chad McMullin officiating.  Burial will follow in Nelson Cemetery.  Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.  Memorials are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Association and an online guestbook is available at www.campbell-lewis.com.

Born April 2, 1938, in Nelson, MO, he was the son of the late Lewis Fisk McCoy and Orpha Lee Petersen McCoy.  He had a brother, Donald, and a sister, Maxine, who he loved dearly and preceded him in death.  Ronald married his soulmate, Beverly Yvonne Taylor, on August 12, 1956.  This loving union lasted 68 years until Beverly’s passing in 2024.  He was the patriarch of his family who frequently sought his advice.  Family and his faith in God are his greatest legacies.  He will also be remembered for being a great friend, never meeting a stranger, his love of practical jokes, and his work ethic.  This was exemplified by his early childhood as a farmhand, 44 years as a railroader, and an auctioneer, only to return to his love of farming in retirement.

He was a member of the First Christian Churches in Slater and Sedalia. He was also a 50 year member of the Masonic Lodge.

Although his family on earth will miss him greatly, they take comfort knowing that he has been reunited with the love of his life and has been received as one of his favorite songs says, “Safely in the Arms of Jesus”.  Just two days before his passing, he shared that he didn’t want to go, but that when it was his time, he had no complaints because “life had been so good to him”.

Survivors include one daughter, Ronda Helmick (Neal); a son, Dr. Craig McCoy (Michelle); grandchildren: Christopher McCoy, Hannah Sydow, Shelby Baxley and Hallie Jeffrey; and great-grandchildren: Hope, Crew, Genevieve, Grace and Isaac.