Ralph Wachter Ralph E Wachter, 91, died May 11, 2010 after a stroke, ending a long and wonderful life. Born May 7, 1919, in Hammond, Indiana he grew up in Southern California the middle child of 7 children. He worked on his family's rabbit ranch, in restaurants and as a mechanics helper to help out his family while he was in school. After high school Ralph joined the U.S. Navy in 1938. He served on the battleship U.S.S. Idaho, one of only 3 battleships not in port when Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941. He served in the Pacific during WWII and was in Tokyo Bay for the signing of the peace treaty with Japan. . He retired as a chief fire control man after 20 years in the U.S. Navy. After retiring he went to college and graduated with honors from CSULB with a degree in electrical engineering. Ralph went to work as a civilian for the U.S. Navy at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard and rose to head of the ordinance department in combat systems before retiring after 17 years. Never one to rest, he then built a home on raw land in Escondido, planted avocado trees and became a farmer. A devoted husband for 50 years to his late wife, Betty, he found love again with Mary Costantino for the last years of his life. Surviving are his son, Greg Wachter and wife, Cathy of Temecula; daughter, Linda Thompson and husband, Dennis of Torrance; and one granddaughter, Kathleen Macken and great-granddaughter, Kassidy, both of Hawaii; brother, Charles Wachter, Jr. and wife, Kathy of Lakewood; and sister, Mary Jane Clark of Arizona. A memorial will be held at the VFW, 1717 E. Vista Way, Vista, California on Saturday, June 12th at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to the American Cancer Society or Running Strong for American Indian Youth.