Ralph Ellsworth Strouse, 87
Ralph Ellsworth Strouse was born Dec. 9, 1923, to Walter Edward Strouse and Mary Ellen Bemus, the fifth child in a family of six, in Endeavor, Pa. He was preceded in death by his parents and all five siblings, Beulah, Jean, Dorothy, Edward and Mary.
At 18, Ralph joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served in both WWII and the Korean War. He married Virginia Rae Ford on Nov. 3, 1946, in Twin Falls, where he was a military recruiter. They eventually has three children: Susan, Connie and Eric. Their life was spent primarily between Camp Pendleton, Ca., and Camp LeJeune, N.C. During his overseas duties, Virginia and the children spent time with her mother, Ida Mae Ford, in Coeur d'Alene.
When Ralph retired from the Marines in 1962, after 20 years, the family moved permanently to Coeur d'Alene where he and Virginia lived until a month before his death, when they moved into an apartment built for them on the property of their daughter and son-in-law, Connie and Howard McGavran, in Spokane.
During Ralph's working years following his discharge, he worked at Potlatch Lumber Mill, as a Deputy County Assessor, and as a city sanitation worker until his retirement.
Ralph was inherently friendly and optimistic. He loved people and people loved him. He spent many hours sitting on the front porch of the home they lived in for 48 years at 806 Indiana Ave. He talked to every passerby, became the neighborhood watch and kept tabs on all the neighborhood activities. He was generous, kind, grateful and philosophical, a role model to his children who were devoted to him. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
Ralph passed away peacefully to his heavenly home in the presence of his wife of 64 years, his daughters and two granddaughters, following a heart related illness.
He is survived by his wife, Virginia; his daughters, Susan (Dennis) Beauchamp of Vancouver; Connie (Howard) McGavran of Spokane; his son, Eric Strouse of Otis Orchards; six grandchildren: Brandy Schueller, Kimberly Miller, Shawn McGavran, Kristopher Beauchamp, Erika McGavran and Katie Strouse; 14 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson.
Ralph was a life member of the Coeur d'Alene VFW and DAV.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances can be sent to the American Heart Association at 140 S. Arthur St. No. 610, Spokane, WA, 99202-2260 or www.americanheart.org/
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24, 2011, at English Funeral Chapel, 1133 N. Fourth St., Coeur d'Alene.