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Ralph H. Emerson Reno, NV QCWA # 06913 Chapter 11 |
Ralph Hettrick Emerson, II
Reno - Ralph Hettrick Emerson, II was born in Seattle, Washington on October 9, 1929, the child of Ralph Hettrick Emerson and Charlotte Mae Griffin. He graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. degree and, after military service with the United States Air Force in Korea, received an M.B.A. degree from Stanford.
At college, he met his wife of 65 years, Colleen Toring Emerson. Together they raised their sons, Ralph III, of Bend, Oregon, and George T. Emerson of Tucson, Arizona. The family moved to Reno in 1971.
Ralph's two great passions were Amateur Radio and Freemasonry.
As a child growing up in Palo Alto, California during World War II, he built radios and would bicycle to David Packard's garage to scrounge used radio components, since they were not commercially available. In his 50's, he realized a childhood dream of serving as a Maritime Radio Officer aboard merchant ships cruising the Pacific Coast.
His involvement with Freemasonry encompassed close to 70 years. He was a Past Master of Palo Alto Lodge #346, and served as an officer at the local, state and national level with the Scottish Rite and York Rite bodies of Freemasonry, maintaining an active roll in Reno Freemasonry into his 90's.
Ralph was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church. He was actively involved in Trinity's philanthropic outreach, as well as donating to the University of Nevada, Reno Medical School's children's research programs.
He is survived by his sons, and two grandchildren, Taylor and Kyle.
A memorial service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church when conditions permit.