Ralph Harm Davis

Ralph was born February 17, 1930, in Germantown, Ohio, to Howard and Cora Davis, the fourth of five sons. After a childhood Ralph described as "a Norman Rockwell painting", the family moved to Houston, Texas, where Ralph achieved varsity letters and all¬-star recognition in basketball, football, and baseball at San Jacinto High School.

Upon graduation, he enlisted in the navy, becoming a Navy corpsman. Three weeks after he was discharged into the reserves, he was recalled for the Korean War. Assigned to both the 1st and 3rd Marine divisions, he served in combat with distinction, being one of only three corpsman from his class of thirty to return to the United States. While stationed at Camp Pendleton, he met Virginia Gastelum, the love of his life.

They settled in Carlsbad, where Ralph graduated from San Diego State University with a double major in Economics and Business, while working full time and raising a family. It was in Carlsbad that Ralph started his lifetime passion for helping youth. He was instrumental in the formation and building of the Carlsbad Little League and it was here he began a seventeen year career of coaching youth football and baseball.

Ralph, Virginia, and their three sons moved to La Mirada in the early 60s where Ralph continued his involvement in youth sports. He was once again one of the prime movers to create the National Little League of La Mirada. As his sons became active in high school sports, Ralph continued his commitment to youth by forming one of the first sports booster clubs in Southern California at La Mirada High School, raising tens of thousands of dollars in support of sports programs at the school. Through this involvement, he created a committee with the goal of building a stadium at LMHS. After seven years, in October 1973, the people of the city of La Mirada dedicated the stadium to Ralph for his years of determined effort. Also in 1973, he was elected to the Norwalk ¬La Mirada Unified School District school board, where he served as president from 1974 to 1977, and negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement with the teachers' union in the state.

In 1968, Ralph began Continuous Forms Control, Inc., a successful printing business which he, along with his partner and son, Ralph Jr., built up and continues until this day, employing dozens of people through the years. Ralph's vocabulary did not have the words "Can't" and "No." He only thought in terms of "Can" and "Yes." He was a mentor to dozens of people both in life and business, and had an immense impact on thousands of lives. Ralph was a rock for his family and a father ¬figure to many.

Married 67 years to Virginia, they raised three sons, Ron (Vickie), Ralph Jr. (Therese), and Mark (Lisa). He will be greatly missed by grandchildren Elizabeth, Ronnie, Magdalena, Genevieve, Marielle, Christopher, Miranda, and Alexander; great-¬grandchildren Gabriella, Noah, Daniel, and Hannah; as well as his sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews, and numerous other family and friends

A viewing will be held from 4-8pm on Sunday, August 7, 2016, with a Vigil and Rosary beginning at 6:30pm at Dimond & Shannon Mortuary (10630 Chapman Ave, Garden Grove).

A funeral mass will be held the next day: Monday, August 8, 2016 at 10am at Saint Mary's Catholic Church (400 W Commonwealth Ave, Fullerton), with interment directly following at Eternal Hills Memorial Park (1999 El Camino Real, Oceanside) at approximately 12 noon. A memorial reception will be held following the gravesite service at the Harding Community Center in Carlsbad (3096 Harding St).

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Ralph and Virginia Davis Education Foundation at www.DavisScholars.org, which provides scholarships for college-bound students of La Mirada High School.