November 16, 1925 – November 26, 2017

It is with great sadness that Ralph’s family announces his sudden passing on November 26, 2017 at the age of 92. 

Ralph was born in Delisle, Saskatchewan. He enjoyed his formative years in Saskatoon before he joined the Navy at the age of 17, volunteering as a gunner on merchant ships. He sailed on four different ships and has three star metals for all seas, as well as CVSM and CLASP. Ralph was very proud of his Navy days and enjoyed telling stories about them. 

After WWII, he met and married Erna Woelke in Vancouver on October 11, 1946. After various jobs, he became a dynamite blaster and had his own company, Becker Blasting. Aviation was one of his hobbies and he loved to read about planes. He achieved his private pilot’s license and purchased is own Navion plane. In 1962, he purchased Tuloon Lake Fishing Camp near Little Fort and the family moved to Kamloops. After the fishing camp days he worked for Weyerhaeuser and the BC Forest Service surveying logging roads. He collected coins from all eras and enjoyed hunting and fishing. Ralph was an avid sports fan and watched lots of hockey and baseball games on television. His grandchildren will always remember playing bumper pool and Just Dance in the basement as well as sledding at the park beside the house on Tod Crescent. On their 25th wedding anniversary, Ralph and Erna cruised to Hawaii on the Canberra, which started a lifelong love of travel and cruising. 

Ralph is survived by his daughter Donna (Gordon) Dittberner of Scotch Creek/Sun Peaks), grandchildren Robert Stewart Jr., Carol DeFehr (Jeff) and Jaclyn Stewart (Mark Lamley), great-grandchildren Spencer Scherrer-Stewart, Taiya and Blake Stewart, Payton DeFehr-Robb and the most recent grandson of 6 months Nolan Lamley. Ralph is also survived by his sisters Joan Greenaway and Lois Johnson and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, two brothers, two brothers-in-laws and his wife Erna in 2007, great-granddaughter Baby Cora Lamley in 2015 and former son-in-law Robert Stewart in 2017. 

Ralph will be missed, but not forgotten.

Condolences may be expressed at www.schoeningfuneralservice.com

• Date : 2017-11-27
• Location : Kamloops, B.C.