Ron was a man of many interests. As a teen in his native town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia, he excelled at varsity football, basketball, and baseball, attending the University of Tennessee on a football scholarship. After serving in the Army, Ron completed his education at East Tennessee State University where he met his wife of 59 years, Anne Bowles Kilbourne. Together, they began careers as school guidance counselors. As a Master’s graduate of the College of William and Mary, he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He was a founding member and steering committee president of the Fairfax County Guidance Association. Ron cherished his vocation for the opportunity it gave him to help so many young people set a course for successful lives.
Ron had a lifelong interest in jazz music (including a stint in broadcasting), stock market speculation, and politics. He enjoyed reading books on a wide range of topics and encouraged others to educate themselves through reading. In his thirties, Ron was taking his family on a Sunday afternoon drive when, on impulse, he stopped to talk to a man he saw training thoroughbred horses in a pasture. That day began a second career in breeding and racing horses which lasted for the rest of his life. As owner and operator of KilBurn Stud, he bred and raced horses for over forty years, bringing scores of winners to the track in West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. He was a board member of the West Virginia Horseman’s Benevolent Protective Association and was a founder and President of the Virginia Horseman’s Association. Ron had a meticulous interest in the science and craft of horse-breeding and treasured the many meaningful friendships it brought into his life.
