LIGATE, Ralph Robert 1933 – 1999

RALPH ROBERT LIGATE, PASSED AWAY SUDDENLY AT VULCAN ALBERTA APRIL 11, 1999 AT THE AGE OF 65 YEARS.

RALPH WAS BORN JULY 3, 1933 AT HANNA, ALBERTA TO JAMES ROBERT AND NETTIE LIGATE. RALPH ATTENDED SCHOOL UNTIL GRADE NINE. HE BEGAN WORKING AT CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY, JUNE 1, 1948 AS A CALL BOY. ONE OF HIS FIRST PURCHASES WAS A HI-FI FOR HIS MOTHER. HE THEN WORKED AS A CLERK IN DRUMHELLER FOR A WHILE AND IN 1952, RALPH ACCEPTED A TRANSFER WITH CN AND MOVED WITH HIS MOTHER TO CALGARY. AT THE AGE OF TWENTY-SIX , RALPH WAS INTRODUCED TO EVA JOYCE BROSH AND HER SON JOHN. EVA WAS NOT IMPRESSED WITH RALPH’S INABILITY TO DANCE. SO RALPH PROMPTLY TOOK DANCE LESSONS FOR SIX MONTHS AND THEN TOOK EVA DANCING. THEY WERE MARRIED IN OCTOBER OF 1959. MARRYING INTO A READY- MADE FAMILY, HE TRIED NOT TO SKIRT AROUND BEING A “FATHER FIGURE” TO YOUNG JOHN, SO HE TOOK HIM TO HIS FIRST STAMPEDER FOOTBALL GAME.

SOMETIME LATER RALPH SUFFERED A SERIOUS BACK INJURY WHILE AT WORK, AND AFTER SPENDING A FEW MONTHS IN A BODY CAST. CN TRANSFERRED HIM TO EDMONTON.
RALPH TRANSFERRED BACK TO CALGARY IN 1963 WHERE HE HAD HIS HANDS FULL WORKING DOUBLE SHIFTS AND ACTING REFEREE AT HOME. AS EVA’S HEALTH FAILED OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, RALPH BECAME VERY BUSY WITH HIS CLEANING BUSINESS AND THE CHILDREN BECOMING OLDER.

EVA PASSED AWAY IN OCTOBER OF 1974. AFTER SOME TIME OF GRIEVING, RALPH REGAINED HIS DIRECTION WITH CHILDREN AND WORK. IT WAS WHILE HE WAS AT WORK HE MET A CAR CHECKER, NAMED TERRY FAUPEL, HE FELT BAD THAT SHE HAD TO STAND OUT IN THE RAIN TO DO HER WORK. SO HE DROVE HER THROUGH THE RAIL YARD THAT NIGHT, PEGGY, HIS DAUGHTER, WAS GETTING OLD ENOUGH TO BABYSIT AND TERRY REQUIRED A SITTER FOR HER DAUGHTER CANDICE. RALPH AND TERRY WERE MARRIED IN FEBRUARY OF 1976. RALPH WAS HARD WORKER AND AS TIMES CHANGE SO DID THINGS AT CN, RALPH WAS OFFERED EARLY RETIREMENT. BEING THE WORKAHOLIC HE WAS HE RESISTED THIS OPTION FOR AS LONG AS HE COULD. EVENTUALLY CANDACE GREW UP AND MOVED OUT OF THE HOME AND RALPH TOOK HIS EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERED BY CN IN 1990. SO AT THE AGE OF FIFTY-SEVEN, RALPH WORKED PART-TIME AS A SECURITY GUARD AT VARIOUS JOBS UNTIL FINALLY RETIRING A FEW YEARS AGO. RALPH AND TERRY DECIDED TO MOVE TO THE COUNTRY AND CHOSE VULCAN AS THEIR NEST. RALPH RENTED A MOBILE HOME FROM MARJORIE AND FRED SCHNEIDER AND CALLED IT THERE “CASTLE” JUST OUTSIDE OF TOWN AND RALPH ACCEPTED NUMEROUS JOBS FROM MARJORIE, FIXING UP PROPERTIES AND HELPING OTHERS WITH ODD JOBS.

HE LOVED HIS FAMILY, MAKING FRIENDS, HE WAS AN EASY GOING, KIND PERSON WHO ALWAYS SAW THE GOOD IN PEOPLE. HE WILL BE SADLY MISSED BY ALL WHO KNEW HIM.

BELOVED HUSBAND OF THERESA “TERRY” LIGATE OF VULCAN, LOVING FATHER OF TWO DAUGHTERS PEGGY (RICK) PRINCE OF OKOTOKS, CANDACE LIGATE OF PRINCE GEORGE, B.C., TWO SONS KELLY (SHAWNA) OF CALGARY AND JOHN (CONNIE) VARNDELL OF OKOTOKS, FIVE GRANDCHILDREN MEGAN, MATHEW, JENNIFER, JOLIE, JOHN JR., TWO BROTHERS-IN-LAW, TWO SISTERS-IN-LAW, NUMEROUS NIECES AND NEPHEWS.

FUNERAL MASS AT ST. ANDREW’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, VULCAN THURSDAY APRIL 15, 1999 AT 2 P.M. WITH FR. WALTER KREWSKI CELEBRANT.

INURNMENT QUEENS PARK CEMETERY, CALGARY AT A LATER DATE.

HONOURARY BEARERS WERE RON ANDERSON, JOHN VARNDELL,FRED SCHNEIDER AND RANDY LOPEZ.

CASKET BEARERS WERE BOB VANLOO, ROLAND MORIN, MARIO CUSANO AND BOB LEFLEY.

IF FRIENDS SO DESIRE TRIBUTES IN RALPH’S MEMORY COULD BE MADE TO THE CALGARY HUMANE SOCIETY (SPCA) 1323 36 AVE. N.E. CALGARY, T2T 6T6.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS IN CARE OF VULCAN FUNERAL HOME. TELEPHONE 485-2633.