Klump

Ronald Roy Klump passed away on Sept. 13, 2026 in Brenham. Ronald was born on Dec. 26, 1943 to Roy and Edith (Weigelt) Klump. He was baptized and confirmed at Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Round Top. He attended Round Top-Carmine School. On Nov. 6, 1965 he married the love of his life, Elizabeth (Nitsche) Klump.

We remember and celebrate the life of Ronald, a man who was so many things to so many people—a husband, father, grandfather, farmer, rancher, businessman, friend, mentor, and a man who simply loved living life.

For Ronald, farming and ranching were not just his occupation— they were who he was. He spent his entire life working the land, raising cattle and hogs, tending to his gardens, and caring for animals. He had a genuine love for animals.

Ronald had a perpetual green thumb. He loved gardening and could grow just about anything. He loved being out on the tractor, plowing his fields, and he took great pride in looking across his pastures and seeing how clean they were and how few weeds they had. And, of course, he loved admiring his cattle. Over the years, he had many herds, and you could always tell how much pride he took in them.

His accomplishments as a farmer and rancher were many. He produced corn and cotton as a young man and sold some of the last cotton the Burton Cotton Gin purchased before it closed. He had the first certified Duroc herd of hogs in Texas. He and his son Russell enjoyed traveling around the state to Angus cattle sales, always looking, learning, and talking cattle. Dad was also deeply involved in showing livestock. His children showed pigs, chickens, and turkeys at local and major stock shows, and Dad had a special talent for picking out the best chickens for a winning coop.

But what meant even more was that Dad didn’t keep that knowledge to himself. Even after the his children were finished showing, he would help other kids and families pick out their show chickens and turkeys. He was always willing to share what he knew and help someone else succeed.

Favorite memories of his children growing up with Ronald as dad are the simple ones—the adventures that didn’t cost anything and didn’t need to be planned. Picking up pecans along Cummins Creek after school. Walking miles along beautiful creek beds and through the woods looking for the best place to trap raccoons during the winter trapping season. Looking back now, those weren’t just things we did. They were pieces of a childhood that will be treasured for a lifetime.

There were also the family gatherings—especially the ones where we butchered hogs and cattle to fill our freezers. Those days brought family together, and there was always plenty of work, plenty of food, plenty of visiting, and plenty of memories being made.

Ronald and Liz were married for 55 years before Liz passed away five and a half years ago. Their marriage was a beautiful part of both of their lives. They loved to dance. They would go out with their friends and dance to polka, waltz, and country music. And they weren’t just good dancers— they were good enough to win second place in a dance contest in Fredericksburg.

That said a lot about Ronald and Liz. They knew how to work hard, but they also knew how to have fun.

They were wonderful cooks, too. For almost 30 years, they owned Klump’s Grocery and later Klump’s Restaurant. And people didn’t just come from around the corner to eat their food. Friends, family, and complete strangers would come from all over Texas for their barbecue, fried chicken, and all the other good food they were known for. As Ronald would say “Come and enjoy a Supa meal.”

But Klump’s was about more than food. It was about people.

Ronald and Liz had so many wonderful friends, and weekends at the restaurant often meant gathering around a table, having a few beers, talking about the week, telling stories, laughing, eating, and simply enjoying one another’s company. Those friendships meant a great deal to Dad, and those gatherings became part of the fabric of his life.

Later in their years together, Ronald and Liz also enjoyed traveling with the Round Top crew. They made wonderful memories on trips to Alaska, Northern California, Lake Tahoe, Colorado, Oregon, and the Caribbean. Those trips gave them a chance to see places far beyond the fields and pastures they knew so well—and, most importantly, to enjoy them together with people they loved.

Ronald was a hard worker. He was proud of what he built, proud of his animals, proud of his land, and proud of his family. But I think one of the greatest things about Ronald was that he was always willing to share what he knew. Whether it was farming, cattle, hogs, chickens, gardening, hunting, fishing, or just life itself, if Dad knew something that could help you, he was going to tell you about it.

He loved hunting and fishing with his family and friends. He loved being outdoors. He loved working the land. He loved animals. He loved a good meal and good company. He loved a good story. And he loved the life that he and Liz built together.

When thinking about Ronald now, we realize how much of his family’s history is woven into the things he loved. The fields he plowed. The cattle he raised. The gardens he grew. The animals he cared for. The meals he and Liz prepared. The restaurant tables filled with friends. The stock shows. The cattle sales. The dances. The hunting and fishing trips. The pecans along Cummins Creek. The family gatherings.

Those memories are his legacy.

And while we are heartbroken that he is no longer here, we are incredibly blessed that he was.

Dad’s life was not just measured in years. It was measured in acres plowed, cattle raised, gardens grown, meals served, friendships made, children helped, dances danced, fish caught, hunts shared, and memories created with the people he loved.

He leaves behind much more than a farm or a ranch. He leaves behind a family who loved him, friends who will miss him, and generations of people who learned something from him.

You were a farmer and a rancher all your life, and I think there is no better place for a man like you to leave his mark than on the land, in the lives of his family, and in the hearts of the people who knew him.

“The fields will still need plowing, the cattle will still need tending, and the seasons will keep changing—but things will never quite be the same without you.”

Ronald is survived by his son, Russell Klump and wife Jonna of Burton; daughter, Kristina (Klump) Pierce and husband Mark of Brenham; sister, Kathleen (Klump) Noska and husband Ernie of Frelsburg; grandchildren, Madeline and Kolten Pierce of Brenham and numerous other family and loved ones. Ronald was preceded in death by his parents and wife.

Serving as pallbearers will be Mark Pierce, Kolten Pierce, Jerry Rohde, Ronald Nitsche, Glenn Schneider, and Preston Davis. Honorary pallbearers will be Robert Wagner, Melvin Schoenst, Wesley DeLeon, Raymond Rosenbaum, Nelson Aschenbeck, Mike Oefferman, and Max Baranowski.

Arrangements for Ronald Klump have been cared for by Fayette Memorial Funeral Home in La Grange. Visitation for friends and family of Ronald will be on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026 from 4-6 p.m. at Fayette Memorial. Services for Ronald will be held on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026 at 10 a.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Round Top. Internment will be held after the service at Nassau Cemetery near Round Top. Friends and Family welcome back to the Bethlehem Lutheran Parish Hall after for a luncheon.