RALPH G DAVIS
May 15, 1931 - July 23, 2005
Commander, US Navy, retired
Ralph was 74 years old when, on Saturday evening 23 July 2005, the Lord called him Home.
He was the son of Glenn and Margaret Davis and grew up in Alliquippa, in western Pennsylvania. He was an Eagle Scout and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in 1954, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1960, and George Washington University in 1970.
He spent 22 years in the U.S. Navy as an engineering duty officer serving in Newport, Rhode Island; Long Beach, California; Washington, D.C.; Norfolk, Virginia; Sasebo, Japan; and Bremerton, Washington. While serving in Norfolk, he worked with Admiral H G Rickover and his highly regulated Nuclear Navy.o
Upon retiring at the rank of commander, he moved to Texas, where he worked for Brown & Root, then Conoco, living for brief periods in Tehran, Iran; and Nantes, France. He also taught part-time at the Texas Maritime Academy in Galveston.
From 1981 to 1987 he taught full-time at the Texas Maritime Academy. Every summer, he sailed with Texas A&M students on the Texas Clipper to such places as Leningrad, Naples, Rio de Janiero, and Copenhagan.
While in the Houston/Galveston area, Ralph sang with the Faith Choir at Webster Presbyterian Church, until 1987 when he moved to Vallejo, where he taught at the California Maritime Academy until 2001. While in California, he was very active in the life of Community Presbyterian Church, he sang in the Vallejo Choral Society and the Solano Choral Society and he rarely missed a concert presented by the Vallejo Symphony.
In retirement, Ralph volunteered at Kaiser Hospital and the Vallejo Police Department, assembled the newsletter for the Western Public Service System, and took pride in keeping his wife's "Honey-Do" list empty.
He loved sailing his Hobie-cat, bicycling, playing recorder, traveling and reading. He always considered himself blessed and believed that life was good.
Ralph Davis was one of the sweetest, kindest men you'll ever find.
His passing leaves a hole in our hearts.
Ralph was preceded in death by his father and mother; his brother Jim; his son Steve; and his stepson Rich Embree. He is survived by his wife and best friend, Sue; daughters, Brenda McCoy of New York City and Karen Davis of Pasadena, California; stepdaughter, Jennifer Alberth; stepson, Brian Embree; and many dear friends.
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If you have any photos or stories to add to this memorial, please share. Beside portraits of his younger self, it would great if somebody added photos of the ship's wheel table he made while stationed in Norfolk and some of his other artwork. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] - just remember to put FindaGrave in the subject heading. Thanks!
RALPH G DAVIS
May 15, 1931 - July 23, 2005
Commander, US Navy, retired
Ralph was 74 years old when, on Saturday evening 23 July 2005, the Lord called him Home.
He was the son of Glenn and Margaret Davis and grew up in Alliquippa, in western Pennsylvania. He was an Eagle Scout and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in 1954, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1960, and George Washington University in 1970.
He spent 22 years in the U.S. Navy as an engineering duty officer serving in Newport, Rhode Island; Long Beach, California; Washington, D.C.; Norfolk, Virginia; Sasebo, Japan; and Bremerton, Washington. While serving in Norfolk, he worked with Admiral H G Rickover and his highly regulated Nuclear Navy.o
Upon retiring at the rank of commander, he moved to Texas, where he worked for Brown & Root, then Conoco, living for brief periods in Tehran, Iran; and Nantes, France. He also taught part-time at the Texas Maritime Academy in Galveston.
From 1981 to 1987 he taught full-time at the Texas Maritime Academy. Every summer, he sailed with Texas A&M students on the Texas Clipper to such places as Leningrad, Naples, Rio de Janiero, and Copenhagan.
While in the Houston/Galveston area, Ralph sang with the Faith Choir at Webster Presbyterian Church, until 1987 when he moved to Vallejo, where he taught at the California Maritime Academy until 2001. While in California, he was very active in the life of Community Presbyterian Church, he sang in the Vallejo Choral Society and the Solano Choral Society and he rarely missed a concert presented by the Vallejo Symphony.
In retirement, Ralph volunteered at Kaiser Hospital and the Vallejo Police Department, assembled the newsletter for the Western Public Service System, and took pride in keeping his wife's "Honey-Do" list empty.
He loved sailing his Hobie-cat, bicycling, playing recorder, traveling and reading. He always considered himself blessed and believed that life was good.
Ralph Davis was one of the sweetest, kindest men you'll ever find.
His passing leaves a hole in our hearts.
Ralph was preceded in death by his father and mother; his brother Jim; his son Steve; and his stepson Rich Embree. He is survived by his wife and best friend, Sue; daughters, Brenda McCoy of New York City and Karen Davis of Pasadena, California; stepdaughter, Jennifer Alberth; stepson, Brian Embree; and many dear friends.
—————
If you have any photos or stories to add to this memorial, please share. Beside portraits of his younger self, it would great if somebody added photos of the ship's wheel table he made while stationed in Norfolk and some of his other artwork. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] - just remember to put FindaGrave in the subject heading. Thanks!
