1930 - 2024
OBITUARY
John R. Ralston, Jr., 94, of Poughkeepsie, New York, died at home on November 28, 2024 shortly after returning home from enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving with his family.
He was born in Charleston, Arkansas in 1930 to John R. Ralston Sr. and Eva (Buckner) Ralston. Young John attended grade school in Ottawa, IL before settling in Columbus, KS. While in Kansas he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. After serving in the US Navy aboard the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt, he graduated from Oklahoma A&M, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
John spent his working career at IBM in the Hudson Valley starting in 1953. He had traveled the world in his capacity as Senior Engineer until his retirement in 1990. John was so proud of his career at IBM and his involvement with the early development of computers. He was always trying to “rescue” discarded PCs, saying, “folks should not just throw them out, they don’t know how hard we worked to make these a reality.” After 34 years of retirement, he still talked about how much he missed working at IBM. On the 70th anniversary of his starting date at IBM, his grandson Alex brought his Granddad to work with him and he got to see how things have changed. It was a special day for them both.
John’s way of life was to make things work. Whether it was the car, a leaky faucet, creating wooden masterpieces for his children and grandchildren, building and restoring wooden boats and being instrumental in rebuilding the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse on the Hudson River, he could fix, make or do anything. John rekindled his past experience of working the annual wheat harvest when he would return to Kansas and help an old friend harvest soybeans. His skills were limitless.
Adventurous activities, most of which he shared with his wife and children, included skiing and being a member of the National Ski Patrol, competing in amaetur motorcycle enduro and trials events or just riding in the woods with friends, owning and flying his own airplane, sailboat cruising and racing on the Hudson River, coastal sailing trips to Maine and back, and delivering a sailboat from the Virgin Islands back to Virginia. Camping was also a family favorite, whether it was by travel-trailer across the country, backpacking in the Teton Mountains, or canoeing in the Adirondacks and on the Allagash River in Maine. He told his advisor at college that he wanted to live in a place where he could learn to ski and sail. When the advisor told him he might be able to do one or the other, but not both, John set out to prove the advisor wrong. Knowing him, you would agree that he succeeded.
Their Granddad was there from the moment his grandchildren Kelly, John, and Alex were born and loved being hands-on as they grew through childhood into adults. He was a fixture at their sporting events, school concerts, graduations, and Kelly and Brian’s wedding. He always listened with great interest whenever they had some new experience they wanted to share with him.
John was preceded in death by his father John R. Ralston, mother Eva (Buckner) Ralston, and sisters Esther Ralston and Evelyn Allen.
He is survived by his wife of 69 years, E. Patricia (Palen) Ralston, daughter Barbara J. Ralston, son Bruce R. Ralston and Eileen Frering, grandchildren Kelly M. and Brian Ralston, John V. Ralston and Victoria, and Alexander J. Ralston and Olivia May, as well as numerous nieces and nephews: Karen Wurtz, Susan McKenzie, Philip Hill, Bill Hill, Lorrie Morse, Diana Maier and David Evans.
In lieu of flowers, consider making a donation in his name to:
Cole Palen’s Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
P.O. Box 229
Rhinebeck, New York
12572
VISITATION
Tuesday, December 3
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Delehanty Funeral Home
64 East Main Street, Wappingers Falls, NY
ENTOMBMENT
Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery
342 South Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY