Ralph Eugene Eacret

Ralph Eugene Eacret Sr., of Apex, N.C., a pathfinder in the introduction and integration of fully automated devices that streamlined the collection of human blood plasma, died Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at the age of 95.

His wife, Beth Ann Eacret (née Risdon), who helped him in the launch and development of his own company, Associated Bioscience Inc., spent every day and many nights at his bedside, in hospital and rehab, during his protracted final illness. Together they marked their 47th wedding anniversary on December 30, 2025.

A native Hoosier, Ralph E. Eacret was born in Greenwood, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis, on April 14, 1930. He was the only child of Jeremiah “Jerry” Owen Eacret, a revival preacher who also worked as a finisher of manufactured products, and Okal E. Eacret (née Cosby).

He had 12 older brothers and sisters. When he became their sole survivor, he embraced the role of patriarch and held his entire family close. Building lifelong relationships with his nieces and nephews, he made a point of returning to his hometown to attend annual reunions and strengthen family connections.

A graduate of Manual High School in Indianapolis, Mr. Eacret enlisted in United States Navy Aviation, serving at Naval Air Station Glenview during the Korean War.

Back home again in Indianapolis, he began a career and a family. Starting in the shipping/receiving department of Pitman-Moore Pharmaceutical Co., a leader in animal health products and producer of the Salk polio vaccine and early influenza vaccines, he worked full time while also attending Butler University and attained his B.S. in three years. Selected for the company’s management training program following a two-year stint as sales representative to medical doctors and veterinarians in Ohio and West Virginia, he was promoted to increasingly more responsible roles.

In 1964 he was chosen to conduct a worldwide investigation into the nascent business of therapeutic blood derivative products on behalf of Dow Chemical, which had acquired Pitman-Moore. In what would be a turning point in his professional life, he became convinced that using venous plasma rather than placental blood as raw material was the future of the blood products market. Dow Chemical agreed with him. By 1968, he held the title of executive assistant to the senior vice president.

Although he was always partial to sunny climes, it was the challenge of bringing quality processes and systems to a new plasma center company based in Miami, Fla. that led him to accept the position of executive vice president for Allied Plasma. Mr. Eacret left Allied to join Armour Pharmaceutical in Chicago as it was entering the blood derivatives market.

Hired as manager of therapeutic blood products and plasma procurement for Armour in 1970, by 1974 he was general manager of blood plasma services. He established a plasma supply chain that vaulted the company from a custom plasma fractionator-for-hire to producer of its own label line of therapeutic blood products. His portfolio included development and oversight of Armour’s tetanus immune globulin, administered to patients with severe wounds and uncertain vaccination history, and Factorate AHF (antihemophilic factor, a life-extending product). He also served on committees of the American Blood Resources Association (ABRA) and was an industry advisor to the National Hemophilia Foundation.

As the nation celebrated the bicentennial of its independence, Mr. Eacret founded Associated Bioscience Inc. (ABI), embracing the freedom and the burden of being his own boss. A progressive start-up in the early days of the plasmapheresis industry, ABI sited its centers near colleges and universities rather than inner cities, ensuring a younger and healthier donor cohort. Plasmapheresis is the process whereby blood is drawn and plasma is separated from blood cells which are returned to the donor’s body.

ABI Tempe, Ariz., was the pilot center in the development of the Baxter/Fenwal Auto-C autopheresis plasma collection device. The first fully automated company in the plasma industry, ABI was designated a quality assurance model for ABRA, the precursor organization to the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association. In 1985 ABI was first to have a donor management system for plasma release/shipment control and for donor processing in 1994.

Mr. Eacret headed the company for 20 years, steering it through an acquisition as it grew to become a major entity in the U.S. plasma industry. From 1997 to 2014 he worked as a contract compliance investigator for Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt in Germany.

He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and mentored aspiring young business people through the Junior Achievement organization.

He relished entertaining and spending time with the multitudes of friends and family developed from his constant consideration of the value of those around him. He was also an accomplished outdoorsman who enjoyed deep sea and freshwater fishing as well as hunting from the wilds of Wyoming to slopes of the Black Forest and Alps in Europe.

In addition to his wife, Beth, he is survived by his daughter Diane Eacret of Peaks Island, ME, sons Stephen Paul (Sandee) Eacret of Casa Grande, AZ, and Robert Risdon (Megan) Eacret of San Diego, CA.; grandchildren Joshaua (Tory), Albert, Chelsie (Matt) Seay, Zachary, William, Risdon and Audrey; and great-grandchildren Iris, Ivey, Luke and Maddalen. His children Susan Ann “Suzi” Eacret and Ralph Eugene “Skipp” Eacret Jr. predeceased him.

A celebration of his life will be held Friday, Jan. 30, at White Oak Regency Club House in Apex, N.C. Contributions in his memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.