He survived to see his grandson born, now he’s helping others find comfort

When doctors told Ron Ertle to “get his affairs in order,” he didn’t argue. The husband and father of three daughters had been diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer and a second tumor growing from his neck.

Over the next several months, Ertle watched his body waste away, losing nearly a pound a day as the tumor spread. “When you’re that sick, it changes you,” he said. “You stop thinking about what you don’t have and start thanking God for what’s left.”

When doctors said chemotherapy, radiation and experimental treatments might buy him more time, Ertle made a bold request. “I asked them to double the radiation, just so I could live long enough to see my grandson be born,” he said.

He did. And when he finally held that baby boy in his arms, he made a silent promise: if he survived, he’d spend the rest of his life helping others feel safe and cared for in their homes.

Before cancer, Ertle had built a heating and cooling company from a single $100 bill into a multi-state operation. When the prognosis looked grim, he sold the business by choice. “I didn’t want my people worrying about a paycheck,” he said. “Everybody lives check to check. Protecting them mattered.”

Surviving changed his definition of success. “People I thought were just customers called to say they were praying for me,” he said. “That’s when I realized they weren’t customers, they were extended family.”

Back on his feet, Ertle missed work but not the relentless grind. He launched Nuts About Comfort Heating and Cooling with a different purpose. “I didn’t build this company for money,” he said. “It’s a hobby that pays me. What I care about is making somebody’s day easier.”

He keeps the operation lean. Ertle runs service, and his longtime friend, an installer who worked with him for three decades, handles installs. Their philosophy is printed on the trucks and practiced in basements: “repair before replacement.”

“If I can fix it and save a family a few hundred dollars, that’s what I’ll do,” he said. He keeps a fully stocked van with igniters, inducer motors and common parts so most repairs are done on the first visit.

Technology has changed since Ertle’s first service calls in the 1990s, with Bluetooth diagnostics, new refrigerants and smarter furnaces, but he says the most important factor hasn’t. “You can buy the best furnace in the world and have a bad install and be unhappy. Or buy an average unit and get a great install and be comfortable for years. Installation is everything.”

Ertle came up with the company’s upbeat mascot, “-Squirrel, as a symbol of preparation and positivity. “Squirrels are always getting ready for winter,” he said. “People aren’t afraid of them, they’re friendly. He reminds us to stay busy, stay positive.”

Nuts About Comfort is a certified Trane and Whirlpool dealer.

Based in Paris, Nuts About Comfort Heating and Cooling serves Carrollton, Dover, New Philadelphia, Bolivar and communities throughout Tuscarawas County. That friendly face rides alongside practical help with veteran and senior discounts and a $1,000 trade-in credit on select new furnaces and all Whirlpool equipment. Nuts About Comfort is also partnering with Whirlpool, which Ertle says is re-entering the northern Ohio region for heating and cooling.

Looking ahead, Ertle is planning a community giveaway in partnership with Whirlpool. The promotion will feature a signed Taylor Swift CD as the prize. To enter, participants can join the Nuts About Comfort Facebook page and mail their name and address on a 3-by-5 postcard, folded and taped closed, to Nuts About Comfort, 6995 Oakhill Ave., P.O. Box 279, Maximo, Ohio 44650, Attn: Taylor’s Drawing. The drawing will be held Wednesday, Dec. 17, and the winner must pick up the prize in person. The giveaway is part of a Whirlpool promotion celebrating the brand’s renewed presence in northern Ohio.

Ertle still answers calls quickly, often the same day, but he also carves out time to travel with his wife. “When you face dying, you learn fast, money isn’t everything, love is,” he said. “So I work, but I don’t run myself into the ground.”

Ertle’s journey is about more than survival. It’s about keeping promises, finding gratitude in the struggle and turning hardship into hope for others. “Comfort isn’t just temperature,” he said. “It’s people breathing easier, in their homes and in their hearts. Every time I hear a furnace fire up in a home we’ve fixed, I feel like I’ve won another round.”

Nuts About Comfort may be reached at 330-229-8142 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., or by email at ron@nutsaboutcomfort.com.