Ron Manion, RIP

[stonemint]

Ron was the owner of Manion's Auction House, which pretty much revolutionized and advanced the hobby back in the day.
Here is his obituary:


Norman Ronald Manion
SEPTEMBER 11, 1940 – MARCH 18, 2019
Obituary of Norman Ronald Manion
NORMAN RONALD MANION
Norman Ronald Manion, 78, of Kansas City, Kansas, passed away March 18, 2019. A Memorial Mass will be at Holy Angels Catholic Church 15408 Leavenworth Road Basehor, Kansas 66007, with visitation from 9:00 to 10:00 preceding the service. Inurnment will follow at Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Catholic Charities.

Norman was born September 11, 1940 in Kansas City, Missouri to Howard and Dorothy Manion. He grew up in Shawnee and graduated from Washington High School. Norman earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from the University of Kansas. He owned the Manion’s International Auction House, where he sold antiques and military memorabilia in Kansas City, Kansas. Norman was joined in marriage to Carol Powers on April 25, 1969. Norman enjoyed gardening, fishing, and hunting at an early age. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Norman is survived by his wife of 50 years, Carol Manion; his children, Guy Manion, Karie Werner, Dawn Lindsey, and Tawnya Manion; his brothers, Mike Manion and his wife Chris, and Chris Manion and his wife Nancy; his eight grandchildren, Robert, Christina, Jacqueline, Madison, Claire, Grant, Wyatt, and Garret; as well several great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Arrangements are under the direction of Chapel Hill – Butler Funeral Home, 913-334-3366.

[Aldo]

I remember buying Manion's paperback auction publication when I first started collecting. I felt armed with knowledge with that book and Robin's "Detecting the Fakes" It's amazing how little I knew compared to the vast knowledge we learn on the internet and this forum in particular. R.I.P. Mr. Manion.

[TWS]

R.I.P. Ron. I too remember "back in the day" getting his auction catalog. I still have a Nebeltruppen Officer's service tunic that I bought in person from Ron at the SOS in 1995. It was at the end of the show and everybody was packing up and he gave me the "If I sell it now I don't have to pack it up and haul it back" price.

[AZPhil]

RIP Mr.Manion. always loved looking at his auction catalogs a drooling over some of the excellent items up for auction. Semper Fi. Phil

[Nacogdochian]

I Did a lot of business with Ron back in the early `1970's through around 1981 when I temporarily gave up collecting. I do still have a couple of daggers that I bought from him. Here is on of his auction catalogs from 1978.

[stonemint]

Thanks for that post--I threw all my old Manions catalogs out back in the late 90s.
Amazing that we would bid based on 1 black and white photo smaller than a thumbnail, but those were the days!

[MAP]

Sad to hear. I never bought or had his catalogs but have heard so much about him over the years

[stonemint]

I always thought Manions would go gangbusters when Ebay banned the sale of TR relics back in 2001.
They did go to a computerized model, but it had glitches, and never really took off.

If I recall correct, a tornado literally wiped out their building back in 2004, and it was never the same after that.
A guy named Jody Tucker bought Manions in 2007 or so (someone can correct me on my dates), but it went downhill fast after that, eventually going into bankruptcy in 2014--a sad end to a once flourishing business.