James "Jim" Francis Ralphe

Jim Ralphe, 92, passed away at Bonaventure Assisted Living in Colorado Springs on September 3, 2024. James Francis, the oldest child of Wendell and Rose Marie Arendt Ralphe, was born November 2, 1931, at St. Paul, Minnesota. His early years were spent in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Arkansas, as Jim’s father, a civil engineer with the US Army Corp of Engineers, worked on projects in the Mississippi River Basin. When Jim was ten years old the family moved to Little Rock which became the family home for many years.

Jim loved the outdoors and enjoyed fishing and duck hunting with his dad, golfing and caddying at local courses, training homing pigeons for communication with classmates, playing neighborhood football and baseball, and spending time with his beloved Airedale terrier, Ike.

Jim graduated as salutatorian of his high school class, and then attended Hendrix College before transferring to the University of Arkansas, Fayatteville, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1953. It was during this time that he met Carol Aucoin at a party in Little Rock and told a good friend that he was going to marry her. However, with the nation involved in the Korean War, Jim first enlisted and served in the Pacific in the US Army from 1953 to 1955. Upon returning home, he and Carol married, and in 1957 Jim earned a Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, followed by the beginning of a 41 year career at Alcoa.

During the first 15 years with Alcoa, the Ralphe family lived and traveled extensively overseas with the longest durations in Surinam, South America and Perth, Western Australia. Upon returning to the States they settled in Pittsburgh. Jim continued overseas travel, including a notable visit to Russia, and many stays in Jamaica and Brazil. He was widely regarded throughout the aluminum industry as an expert in alumina refinement and production. In 1987 he was awarded Alcoa’s Chairman’s Award, given for technical excellence, the company stating, “His technical awareness of refining operations is a primary factor in keeping Alcoa factories working at peak process efficiency”.

Jim treasured time and traveling with his family. He was a skilled golfer, and he and Carol spent many decades enjoying golf with their friends in various locations. In his later years, he enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, identifying birds, bowling, and having lunch with other retired friends in Pittsburgh.

Jim was predeceased by his parents. He leaves behind Carol, his wife of nearly 69 years; his children: Lisa Ralphe of Valrico, FL and Greg Ralphe (Leslie) of Colorado Springs, CO; two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren: Amelia Byl (Austin) and Jules, Marshall and Fiona, of Longmont, CO, and Nathan Ralphe (Lauren), and Kyla and James, of Denver, CO. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Finn, of Cincinnati, OH.

To celebrate Jim’s life, relatives and friends are invited to the funeral liturgy on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at 10:30 AM at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church, 8755 Scarborough Drive, Colorado Springs, CO. Following the liturgy, Jim will be laid to rest at noon at Pike’s Peak National Cemetery.

For those who have asked to send flowers to the family in memory of Jim, please send to either: Carol Ralphe, Bonaventure Assisted Living, 9112 Grand Cordera Parkway, #182, Colorado Springs, CO 80924 or send for delivery to arrive on 10/21/24 to St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church, 8755 Scarborough Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.