Ron Roznovsky, longtime owner of Roznovsky's Hamburgers, passed away on Sunday, less than a month after celebrating his 40th anniversary with wife Debby. The two met in college in 1973, the same year that Roznovsky—a graduate of Waltrip High School—famously pitched a no-hitter for the University of Texas as an All-American baseball player.

Roznovsky helped lead UT's baseball team to two Southwest Conference titles and two College World Series games before playing six seasons for various Houston Astros' minor league affiliates. Decades later, the walls at Roznovsky's Hamburgers were still covered with UT memorabilia—just one of the loveable quirks that made the Oak Forest joint a destination for more than just its burgers, its Frito pies, and Ron and Debby's warm, welcoming presence.

Ron and Debby were married in 1975 and had two children. The couple had been running the Roznovsky's Hamburgers at 3401 W. T.C. Jester for 28 years; the original location of Roznovsky's Grocery at 5719 Birdsall that sold double-burgers for 90 cents during the 1970s and inspired knockoffs as far away as Louisiana is now a row of brick townhomes. It was here that Ron's father Louis Roznovsky and Ron's brother Kenneth first gained fame for their homestyle burgers served with icy longneck beers. The TC Jester outpost of Roznovsky's opened in 1986, while the grocery closed its doors in 1994 on the cusp of massive gentrification of its Rice Military surroundings. Kenneth passed away 10 years later in 2004.

A memorial service for Ron will be held at 2 p.m. this Thursday, February 12, at St. Stephen's United Methodist Church at 2003 W. 43rd St. At the Roznovsky family's request, donations can be made in Ron's name to a memorial fund at St. Stephen's United Methodist Church in lieu of flowers.