Lee Ronnel didn't talk much about himself.
After all, what could there be to say?
He was the founder of Metal Recycling Corp. in Little Rock, a philanthropist and community leader -- kind, generous and humble.
But he was also a talented pianist who spoke fluent Russian.
He was born in Shanghai and lived there while it was occupied by Japan during World War II. His parents were professional musicians who fled Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution.
"Most of the people who knew my father for a lifetime didn't know those things," said Steve Ronnel. "He was so humble. The focus is always on you, not him."
Lee Ronnel died Saturday of natural causes. He was 85.
Richard Williams, a Little Rock lawyer and close friend of Lee Ronnel's, said some people donate money to their favorite charities while others donate time.
"However, Lee Ronnel was that exceedingly rare individual who contributed both his money and his time to many different charities such as the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra," said Williams. "Moreover, Lee made countless friends as he assumed leadership roles throughout his life. He made Arkansas a better place to live."
"I think what Dad grew up around was a family that believed in hard work to make yourself, your family and your community better each day," said Steve Ronnel. "Dad's greatest gift was his ability to create and maintain relationships."
Lee Ronnel volunteered at UAMS for more than 30 years after a serious snow skiing accident that resulted in multiple surgeries and a lifetime of gratitude.
"He was the kind of person that when he walked into the room, he didn't have to say anything: You knew he was a kind, caring gentleman," said UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson. "It was immediately apparent."
Ronnel's personal generosity to UAMS included multiple scholarships for medical school students, cardiovascular fellowships and research funds, as well as various gifts for UAMS campus construction and beautification projects. UAMS honored him as a lifetime member of the UAMS board of advisors.
Ronnel served as chairman of the UAMS Foundation Fund Board and was the UAMS representative to the University of Arkansas Foundation Inc., which he also chaired.
"Lee Ronnel was a person of exceptional intelligence and character and I am certainly proud to count him as a friend and mentor," said Clay Davis, president and CEO of the University of Arkansas Foundation.
Ronnel served as chairman of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra's board of directors, headed multiple conductor search committees, co-chaired with his wife Dale the Opus Ball X, was honored with lifetime board membership, and, along with Dale, received the Governor's Patron of the Arts award.
Christina Littlejohn, CEO of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, said they were reluctant honorees, not wanting any of the attention.
Littlejohn said Lee Ronnel recruited her for the job and she got to work with him for 12 years.
"Every atom in his being was a force for good," she said. "He had a beautiful heart. He cared so much for the symphony. ...
"What I remember most is how every part of him wanted to make the world a better place, just wanted to put good into this world. He never said anything bad about other people. He loved to laugh."
Littlejohn said she was having lunch with Ronnel one day, and he was giving the symphony a rather large donation. He noticed, though, that on his bill he had been charged for two coffees when he only had one, so he asked that the mistake be corrected.
"He said, 'Littlejohn, remember you've got to spit out the pebbles to swallow the elephant,'" she recalled.
Former Gov. Mike Beebe said Ronnel was "a consummate gentleman."
Beebe said Ronnel was exceedingly generous as a supporter of Beebe's political efforts, as well as other civic causes.
"Sometimes you just hated to call him because he was always willing to do so much," said Beebe.
E. Lee Ronnel was born Elias Itkis on June 16, 1936, in an expatriate Russian community within Shanghai, China.
His Ukrainian-born father, Leo Itkis, was a virtuoso pianist who defected, along with the entire Kiev Ballet troup, while it was on tour in China to escape the Bolshevik Revolution that had swept through their Ukrainian homeland.
In Shanghai, Leo Itkis met and married Dora Paley, a Russian immigrant and musician.
Japan occupied Shanghai after the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
On July 21, 1942, Ronnel's father died unexpectedly at the age of 35.
After Japan's surrender in World War II, Lee Ronnel's mother married a U.S. Army officer, Lt. Col. Eliot A. Ronnel.
In April 1948, when he was 11 years old, Lee Ronnel and his mother came to America. They settled in Tuckahoe, N.Y., just north of New York City, where they both became naturalized U.S. citizens.
Ronnel worked his way through high school doing various service jobs, winning prize money playing piano at local talent competitions, performing as piano soloist for the Westchester, N.Y. , Symphony Orchestra, and playing piano in a dance band ensemble.
Steve Ronnel said his father had perfect pitch.
"My dad could hear a car horn honk and go, 'E flat,'" he said. "And then he'd go to the piano and sure enough it was an E flat."
Lee Ronnel paid for college by joining the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at New York University.
During an Air Force ROTC training assignment in Greenville, Miss., Lee met Dale Grundfest of Rolling Fork, Miss., who was home from college in the summer of 1958.
They married in 1960.
Ronnel retired from the Air Force in 1964, with the rank of captain and, at the urging of Dale's parents, moved to Little Rock with Dale and their first child, Karen, in tow, to begin work at a scrap metal recycling company owned by Dale's uncle.
In 1979, Lee founded Metal Recycling Corp. in Little Rock. He guided the company successfully for more than four decades with the help of his sons Mike, who joined the family business in 1989, and Steve, who joined in 1999.
During Lee Ronnel's tenure as president, Metal Recycling Corp. grew to 90 employees at three metal recycling centers in Little Rock, North Little Rock and Searcy, and two metal commodity trading companies in Little Rock.
Lee served as board chairman of the Jewish Federation of Arkansas, where his ability to speak Russian fluently was tapped to help Russian Jewish immigrants get settled and find work in central Arkansas. Lee and Dale were honored with the Jewish Federation's Jane B. Mendel Lifetime Achievement Award.
"My parents led by example," said Steve Ronnel. "They gave back to the community and shared gratitude for the many blessings that we enjoyed."