|
|
| In Loving Memory... | |
| Ralph W. Knowles December 6, 1928 - April 6, 2001 |
|
| Graveside services for Ralph W. Knowles,
73, of Locust Grove, were held Sunday, April 8, 2001, at
2pm in the Bryan Chapel Cemetery at Boatman. Rev. Ed
Crawford officiated with services under the direction of
the Locust Grove Funeral Home. Mr. Knowles was born December 6, 1928, in Artesia, New Mexico, to Fred S. and Gladys McKinney Knowles. He grew up in Artesia and graduated from Artesia High School. He was also a 1950 graduate of the Gradwohl School of Laboratory Technique in St. Louis. He married Mary Lou Hale on October 13, 1952, in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was a veteran of several branches of the U.S. Military. After serving two years in the Texas and U.S. National Guard, he joined the Air Force in 1951. He served in Korea before his honorable discharge as a Staff Sergeant in 1955. He also served enlistments in both the Navy and the Army. He worked chiefly as a chemist, and he owned and operated his own medical lab in Farmington, New Mexico for a time. He also worked as a Class A Chemist for Kraft Foods in Urbana, Illinois for 11 years. He came to the Locust Grove are a after his retirement in 1986. In his retirement, Ralph enjoyed fishing, hunting, and birdwatching. He also liked to go out metal detecting, and he loved playing poker with his grandkids. He passed from this life on Friday, April 6, 2001, at his home near Locust Grove. He is survived by three sons, Ralph Jr. and wife Betty Knowles of Carlsbad, New Mexico, Richard and wife Pat Knowles, Randy and wife Cheryl Knowles, all of Locust Grove; daughter Mary Cummings of Rantoul, Illinois; 14 grandchildren, including Raymond and Korbey Chandler, who lived with and cared for him in his final months; 13 great-grandchildren; niece Carolyn Wood of St. Joseph, Illinois, along with several other nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by both parents; by his wife of 48 years, Mary in 1999; sister Wanda Artrip; and granddaughter Misty Dawn Mathis. |
|
| Obituaries |
Locust Grove Funeral Home |