Ralph Howard Carlstrom

Ralph Howard Carlstrom Sr, 82 years old, departed this life suddenly on Jan 1st, 2026, at his home in Newalla, Oklahoma. Ralph was born Oct 13th, 1943, in Attleboro Massachusetts to Howard and Nancy Carlstrom. A few years later his parents moved to Norwalk, California where Ralph grew up alongside his brothers Howard and Ronald. Ralph attended Excelsior High School, receiving his diploma upon graduating. Unexpectedly, at 24 years of age, Ralph was drafted into the United States Army. While serving a tour of duty in Vietnam unfortunately he was wounded and returned home. Ralph’s military service garnered him numerous medals including Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and most notably the Purple Heart. Ralph also received two Overseas Service Bars for his tours of duty.

Ralph met the love of his life, Elaina Rose Skaggs before he was drafted into the US Army. They were married on Sept 18, 1967, and were together for over 58 years. Ralph and Elaina had three children: Lisa, Ralph Jr and Laura, all of whom he dearly loved. After moving his wife and family to Oklahoma, they settled on 5 acres of property in Newalla. Ralph worked for many years at Wilson’s Meat Packing plant in Oklahoma City. After Wilson’s his final job was at General Motors working on the body shop assembly line. Ralph was employed 24 years at GM and was a frequent recipient of the Perfect Attendance Award. He reluctantly retired from General Motors in 2006 when the plant officially closed.

As a pastime, Ralph really enjoyed raising homing pigeons and devoted many hours to caring for them. A lover of the outdoors he seized every opportunity to do landscaping or go fishing at various ponds, lakes and the Pacific Ocean. Ralph also liked to frequent flea markets, swap meets and yard sales. In Ralph’s eyes “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure”, always on the hunt, he amassed quite a few “treasures”. Ralph loved everything Elvis: his music, movies and magazines, a passion he inherited from his father. He was also a fan of GRIT tv which enabled him to binge watch old westerns. Over the years, Ralph spent numerous hours watching vintage drag racing and attending local classic car shows. In fact, Ralph’s favorite car was the legendary muscle car, the 63’ Chevy Impala SS with the famous 409 engine and 4-speed manual transmission. On another note, Ralph was known for his playful gesture of pulling out a Dum Dum sucker from his chest pocket and handing them out to friends and family. Ralph also was never one to complain or let aging get him down, when asked how he was doing he would reply “Hey, I’m doing okay for an old man”.

Ralph is survived by his beloved wife of 58 years, Elaina Rose Carlstrom; his children Lisa Ranae DeBow and wife Jule of Newcastle OK, Ralph Howard Carlstrom Jr and wife Jamie of Harrah OK, Laura Raeann Johnson of Oklahoma City OK, and his only grandchild Megan Elizabeth Carlstrom of Harrah OK. Ralph is survived by his two brothers: Howard Francis Carlstrom Jr of Corona California, Ronald Joseph Carlstrom and wife Phyllis of Norwalk California. He was preceded in death by his parents Howard and Nancy Carlstrom.

The Carlstrom family would like to thank the V.A. Hospital for the excellent treatment Ralph received over the years and for treating our veterans in need.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Primrose Funeral Service, located at 3901 N Flood Ave., Norman, OK 73069, on January 17, 2026, starting at 2:00 pm.