Obituary of Ralph Calvin McCollum

Ralph McCollum passed away March 6, 2019, with his children by his side. He was 92 years old. He died at Alpine Way Assisted Living Apartments in Shelton, WA where he was a resident at the end of a long decline from Alzheimer’s disease. He was preceded in death by his wife, Frances, in 2011. He is survived by his three children: Lisa McCollum in Shelton, WA; Holly McCollum (Jerry Knight) in in Hilton Head Island, SC; and Nathan McCollum (Kami) in Poulsbo, WA. Also by his three granddaughters: Emma Knight Davis (Bryan) in GA; Kelsey Knight Post (Will) in GA; and Alexis Hughes Waters (Thomas) in GA. He has seven great grandchildren: Aidan, Abigail, Kathryn, Nathaniel, Everly, Lola, and Olivia, all in GA. Ralph was born November 30, 1926, in Comanche, OK, to Marvin McCollum and Connie (Williams) McCollum. He was the youngest of four children. His sisters Hope Carlisle and Opal Sitton, and his brother, R.O., are all deceased. Ralph’s parents were farmers in Oklahoma and he started out as a farmer but then joined the U.S. Army in 1946. After his service he moved to Ajo, AZ where his siblings were living. While in Ajo, Ralph met and married Frances Downey, who had also been born in Comanche. They were married July 23, 1949. Over the next five years they lived in Ajo, except while Ralph was serving in the Army during the Korean War 1950-1953, during those years they were stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington State. After Ralph’s discharge from the Army, they returned to Ajo where he worked in the copper mine. Their first child, Lisa, was born in Ajo in 1955. Soon after that they moved to Cobalt, ID (near Salmon) where Ralph worked in the cobalt mine. Holly was born there in 1957. When the cobalt mine closed, they moved to Idaho Falls, ID where Ralph worked for Electric Boat. Nathan was born there in 1962. In 1964 the family moved to western Washington where Ralph went to work at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton. He was a welder on nuclear submarines, then became a nuclear inspector, and ended his career at PSNS as a foreman in nuclear inspection. They built a home near Silverdale, WA and lived there almost 30 years. After retirement, they moved to North Carolina in 1994. It was there that Frances was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and they decided to move back to Washington where Frances died in 2011. Ralph has lived in Shelton, WA since 2001. Ralph had a varied career from farmer in OK, to miner in AZ and ID, to nuclear welder, and finally nuclear inspector, in WA. At home he was a carpenter, mechanic, and handyman doing his own construction projects, and maintenance for their home and autos. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping with his family. He was a gardener of vegetables and flowers, especially roses. He read the newspaper every day and also enjoyed reading western, military, and espionage action adventure novels. He was a Seahawks and Mariners fan. And he would have been a Sonics fan, again, when they came back to Seattle. A private burial was held at Shelton Memorial Park on March 15, 2019. A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 27, 2019, 1:00 pm at Hope Chapel, 421 West E Street, Shelton, Washington. To leave condolences, go to McComb & Wagner Funeral Home’s website at: http://www.mccombwagner.com Donations in memory of Ralph can be made to the Washington State Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, online at http://www.alz.org/alzwa .