|
Ralph Harry Draves
1935 - 2013
- Ralph Harry Draves
December 2, 1935 - October 14, 2013
Ralph Harry Draves, 77, of El Lago, TX passed away October 14, 2013 in
Houston, TX following complications from open heart surgery.
Ralph was born December 2, 1935, in Wright County, Iowa, to Harry &
Elizabeth (Pepper) Draves. He graduated from Iowa State College, Ames,
with a degree in chemical engineering, and married Marion Buckley (Bath,
Ohio) on November 21, 1958.
As the family grew to include five children and numerous foreign exchange
students, they lived in Fort Dodge, Mason City, and Marshalltown, Iowa,
before moving to El Lago in 1978. Ralph was a senior process control
engineer at his retirement, having worked for several corporations
including Fort Dodge Laboratories, Northwestern States Portland Cement,
Fisher Controls, Conoco, Monsanto, and DuPont. He was active in
Toastmasters and AIChE for many years and was a lay minister in the United
Methodist Church. He and Marion were charter members of Bay Harbour UMC.
Ralph enjoyed gardening, solving crosswords and Sudoku puzzles, and
working on the family genealogy. He treasured time spent helping care for
his grandsons.
He is survived by children: Catherine (Greg) Kruger, Michael (Nancy),
Karen (Stephen) Hokanson, and Stephanie Cook; grandchildren: Geoffrey
(Anna), Christopher, and Kirsten Kruger; Cristiano (Alison) Draves; and
Anthony and Zachary Cook; three great-grandchildren; and sister Norma
Haltom.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Marion, daughter Patricia,
and brother Ronald.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, October 19, 2013 at
Bay Harbour United Methodist Church, 3459 Deke Slayton Hwy. (3459 FM 518
Rd. E), League City, TX 77573. Inurnment will be at Riverside Cemetery,
Marshalltown, Iowa.
Services in the Marshalltown, Iowa, area are pending.
source: © Mitchell Family Funeral Home, 1209 Iowa Avenue W.,
Marshalltown, Iowa 50158; 641-844-1234
|