Ronnie Powell, who retired from UNMC Facilities Management and Planning in August 2022 and was known for his megawatt smile, friendliness and collegiality, died July 21, 2026. He was 69.
Powell joined UNMC in 1976, moving from housekeeping to biomedical communications to facilities management and planning, where he served as a full-time refrigeration tech and zone tech. While at UNMC, Powell attended Metro Community College parttime to earn his associate degree and do mechanical work and all kinds of repairs on the med center campus.
“I’m a Jack-of-all-trades and a master of none,” Powell joked in 2022 while sharing his story for the McGoogan Health Sciences Library’s oral history program. Read the UNMC Today story and watch the recording here.
Facilities technician lead and longtime friend Jim Gilbert said he first met Powell in 1987. “He always had a big smile and knew everyone,” Gilbert said. “That’s why he was referred to on campus as the Mayor. Rest in peace, my friend.”
Powell was “one of a kind and an irreplaceable part of the UNMC/Nebraska Medicine family,” said Tyler Busboom, executive director, facilities support services for UNMC and Nebraska Medicine. “Over nearly five decades of service, he helped care for our campus and supported the important work happening here every day. But Ronnie’s greatest impact was on people…he seemed to know everyone—and, more importantly, he made everyone feel like they mattered,” Busboom said.
“His smile, kindness, professionalism and genuine love for this community touched generations of colleagues. UNMC and Nebraska Medicine are a better place because Ronnie was part of it, and he will be deeply missed.”
During his tenure, Powell befriended faculty, staff and students across the med center campus and shared his love for both the Chicago Bears and his church, where he was a Sunday school secretary and greeter.
At the time of his retirement, Powell said UNMC had “been a second home to me….I’ve been blessed.”
Visitation will be Aug. 6 from 6-8 p.m. at Good Shepherd Funeral Services, at 3809 N 90th St, and Aug. 7 from 11 a.m. to noon at Fort Street Church of Christ, 5922 Fort St., followed by graveside services at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, 7609 Mormon Bridge Rd. For details on visitation and services, visit his obituary page.
Ronnie made everyone feel better about themselves and about the med center. He was the absolute best. Blessings to his family and friends.
RIP Ronnie!!
Ronnie will be remembered most for his genuine smile and neverending cheerfulness. Our paths crossed many of his years here and it was an honor to have known him. He added brightness to everyone’s day.
I loved crossing paths with Ronnie on campus! He was always a joy to work with and when he retired the campus felt the loss of this friendly and gifted colleague. Now even more so! Our deepest condolences to his family.
Ronnie will be missed and never forgotten as his smile and energy radiated joy and peace to so many who walk the halls of our academic medical center. He was the definition of “Nebraska Nice” and I am grateful for all he has done over his decades of service.
Ronnie was a friend to everyone. Always friendly and polite.
He will be remembered by many. My condolences go out to his family.
Ronnie Powell never had a bad day and he made everyone’s day better with that smile and laugh. We shared our love of the Chicago Bears every fall and I will miss that conversation this year. May he rest in peace.
This wonderful man proved the power of the smile in making the world a better place. He was a bright star in our universe.
Glow on, Ronnie Powell.
He was in a meeting once and had an institutional memory for something being discussed that no one in the room had and he literally saved a decision from being that was going to be a bad one–to changing that decision to be a good one.
You could stand me in front of a crowd of one hundred people, and that would be the first smile I’d see. Now he smiles down at us all.
I am so sad to see this news. What an incredible person he was. He always smiled and talked to me. It was special. Condolences to his family and friends.
My heartfelt condolences to Ronnie’s family and friends. Ronnie will always be remembered for his warm smile, kind heart, and friendly spirit. He will be deeply missed. RIP Ronnie!
Ronnie was a breath of fresh air. He will be missed.