Ronnie Jean Savion

Ronnie Jean Savion
Great shoes, infectious laugh, stunning design, warm smile. The creative force that was Ronnie Savion, co-founder of Elias/Savion, passed away Saturday, October 27, 2018.
A native of Queens, New York, Ronnie brought her style, talent, oversized portfolio and New York accent to a review at Carnegie Mellon's School of Design in 1973. She thought her sculpture, oils, inks, charcoals and macramé were not professional enough for admission. They thought differently, especially when they asked what she wanted to do. "I don't know, that's what I'm here to learn."
It was at CMU that Ronnie met her lifelong business partner, Philip Elias. With help from a faculty advisor, they started their business while still in school and spun it out to become one of the top privately-owned advertising and public relations firms in western Pennsylvania.
Over a 42-year career, she cultivated brands, created logos and developed award-winning campaigns for regional, national and international clients. She also liked to push limits, as when she directed the first nude photo to make the front page of the paper as a scandal in the making – the result of a promotional shot for the original Heaven nightclub and their "Body Gazing" event developed by the agency. She directed Muhammad Ali, Tony Bennett, Lauren Hutton and Larry King for the iconic Legends campaign shot by Francesco Scavullo for Morton's the Steakhouse, developed the logo system and brand for the global GS1 bar code system, and created the winning campaign for the redeveloped JetBlue headquarters terminal under development by Fraport USA at JFK International.
It was Ronnie's style, energy and love of life that first turned the head of John Gaughan, her husband and life partner for 33 years. And it was her gentle kindness, compassionate spirit and quiet concern for others before herself that turned his heart. She never missed an opportunity to help those in need. Together they raised their "children" – kitties Frankie and Louis – embraced a large family of friends and employees, served their communities and celebrated the Black and Gold.
In addition to her husband, John, Ronnie is survived by her mother Ruth Savion (Pittsburgh), her brother Ilan (Julia) Savion (Oakland CA), her nephew Yoram (Nicole) Savion and great nephew Marcel (Oakland CA). She is also survived by in-laws, MaryAnn (Jerome) Bentley and their daughter Adrienne, Bridget (Greg) Ellis, Vincent Gaughan and Tom Gaughan and his son Joshua.
She was predeceased by her father, Joseph Savion.
Friends welcome Friday 2-4, 6-9pm, William Slater II Funeral Service (412-563-2800) 1650 Greentree Rd, Scott Twp 15220.