Ronald (Ronnie, Ron) Augustus Hartford II, was born December 9, 1949 to Ronald and Doris Hartford of North Dexter, Maine. He was the eldest of his siblings followed by the late Michael Hartford of North Dexter, Maine, Steve Hartford of Parkman, Maine, Carol Goulette of Bath, Maine and the youngest, Cheryl Ruskinis of Sangerville, Maine. His love of farming started on their small family farm where they had a few dairy cows that he helped his father milk. In high school, he had a job driving the bus while attending school at Guilford's PCHS. His last stop of the day was at the late Bob Bridge's dairy cow farm in Parkman, Maine where he worked doing chores. Many evenings Bob would have to go find Ronnie on the tractor working the fields and tell him it was time to quit for the day. After receiving an associate Civil Engineering degree from the University of Maine Orono he was drafted to the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany. Strong as an ox with an unwavering "can do" attitude showed his regiment mates what true Maine grit was. He married the farmer's daughter, Kathleen (Kathy) Folsom and they had two sons, Ronald (Gus) Hartford III and Matthew Hartford. Kathy would hold the infant sons at the window pointing to the tractor in the field saying, "Dada" so often that the boys thought "Dada" was a tractor! Ronnie's love of children was not lost on his sons or his two grandchildren Hailee and Avah Hartford, doting on them whenever he could. In 1972 he began working on the Folsom Farm in Cambridge, Maine a dairy cow farm then owned by father, Elmer Folsom, and son, James (Jim) Folsom. He proved his value to the business with his tireless work ethic and problem solving wit and in 1978 became partners of the farm with Jim. Together they expanded the amount of acreage farmed and cows milked making Cambridge Farms what it is today. Over the years the small farm crew used their own resources as often as possible to grow the business - harvesting trees from their land to afford tractors or growing their own corn to grind for feed. Their 15 hour work days, 365 days a year, were longer in the summer. But to Ronnie it wasn't all work, you could tell by the smile on his face at the end of the long days - he was living his dream of farming. Ronnie remarried in 2011 to Linda Kensell, a wonderful woman who Ronnie would joke with saying, "She's got faults but cookin' ain't one of them!" And good thing - food was another of Ron's loves, often planning the next meal while enjoying the current one. Together they canned and preserved much of the large garden Linda tended. Over the years they were able to enjoy vacations with friends and family, always during mud season when the fields couldn't be tended, of course! He enjoyed motorcycle riding, ATVing and snowmobiling whenever possible. With the Cambridge Cruisers ATV club he coordinated "The Cambridge Cornfield Ride," a benefit event for Make-A-Wish where he guided ~700 ATV's through the maze of the farm's corn and grass fields with a firework display finale. In the fall he helped with the ATV club's Toys for Tots charity ride. Ron is survived by his mother Doris Hartford, brother Steve and sister-in-law Brenda Hartford, sister Carol and brother-in-law Dave Goulette, sister Cheryl and brother-in-law Frank Ruskinis, son Gus and daughter-in-law Holly Hartford, granddaughters Hailee and Avah, son Matthew and daughter-in-law Julie Parenteau, step-daughter Amy Carr and step-son-in-law Aaron Carr. Ron is predeceased by his father Ronald Hartford, brother Michael Hartford, sister-in-law and best friend Susan Skillin. Ron passed peacefully at home with family, this generous man will be sadly missed by many family, friends, and his dog Jake. In lieu of flowers, donations to Make-A-Wish on behalf of Ronnie Hartford can be made by mail to: Make-A-Wish, 66 Mussey Road, Scarborough, ME 04074. A celebration of life service will be held later in 2020.