Ronald Eric Troy

It is with deep sorrow that we share that Ronald E. Troy has passed away peacefully at home on November 1, 2023.  In his final days he and his wife, Barbara, were comforted by many friends, family, and his beloved dog, April.

Ron was born in Sydney, Australia in July 1935.  His parents, Harry and Etheline, had four other children: his older brother Alan, his older sister, and two younger brothers Kevin and Brian.

After graduating high school, Ron completed an apprenticeship in carpentry.  He would drive to work on his motorcycle with his tools in a sidecar.  During that time, he picked up ballroom dance and found his true calling.  As he was developing his dance skills he was called to serve in the Australian Navy during the Korean war.  When he returned home, he dedicated his full attention to dance.  He competed in many local and international ballroom dance competitions throughout his career.  He was the former Australian Champion of Champions and the Australian representative to the World Championships in Japan in 1969, where he was a finalist in both ballroom and Latin dance.  In between competitions, Ron taught ballroom dance to all levels and ages.  Ron’s attention to detail and persistence served him well in this role. 

Ron started out teaching children in the Australian countryside and coached several champions.  However, Ron’s goal of international dance success drew him away from Australia.  His plan was to travel to London to train with some of the best dance coaches in the world.  To achieve this, Ron took a job on the Royal Viking Cruise Line where he served as a ballroom dance instructor, cabaret artist, and a member of the cruise staff.  He sailed from Sydney to Los Angeles where he planned on travelling to New York and then continuing to London via another cruise ship.  However, Ron gained many fans onboard, including the ship’s cruise director, who asked him to stay on as a dance instructor.  This was the beginning of a long and wonderful career as a ballroom dance instructor aboard cruise ships.  After four and a half years onboard, Ron decided to try his luck teaching in the US.  He initially started in Dallas, Texas.  It is there that he developed a life-long love for the Dallas Cowboys.  Eventually, Ron settled in South Florida where he continued to compete, teach, and judge ballroom dancing both on land and at sea.  Over the span of an approximately 65-year career, Ron taught thousands of people to dance, hosting his last dance class in March of 2023.  He was known as a strict but kind instructor who instilled a passion for dance in everyone.  Over the course of his long career, Ron attained the status of Fellow, Examiner, and Adjudicator in Ballroom, Latin American, and New Vogue Dancing with the CBDF in Australia and the United States.  He was registered with the NADTA in the US; he was a World Class Adjudicator with the World Dance Sport Council, and was a judge and adjudicator with the United States Amateur Ballroom Dance Association.

Ron was married four times, but he met the love of his life, Barbara, in the late 1990’s.  They married in 2011.  After marrying Barbara, he became a father figure to her adult sons, Michael and John, and a beloved pop-pop to their children.

Ron is survived in the US by his wife, Barbara Troy, her sons Michael (Desiree) and John (Jennifer), and her grandchildren (Sadie, Alexandra, William, and Vivienne).  In Australia he is survived by his brothers Kevin (Lynda) and Brian (Jan), and many nieces, nephews.  He was blessed with many caring friends locally and around the world.  He was truly loved by all who knew him and will be dearly missed.

In his final days, Ron received exceptional care in home hospice.  In recognition of this, his family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in Ron’s name may be made to Trustbridge Hospice at http://trustbridge.com/give/. 

 A link to watch the recording of the service can be found here:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zup3Mlrc05ybGqkSfcTc7ZZ_xoWjKQ5r/view?usp=drive_link

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