Ralph Leroy Montgomery

Ralph Leroy Montgomery, 89, Lubbock resident for more than 66 years, died Friday, August 9, at Covenant Hospital's Palliative Medicine Unit. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Resthaven Memorial Park. Visitation with the family will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Rest-haven’s Abbey Chapel.

Ralph is survived by his wife, Carol; daughter Jody Armstrong, her husband, Randy Armstrong, and son, Eric Armstrong, all of Abilene; daughter Jerry Montgomery and husband, Jim Vaught, of Childress; and son, Roland Montgomery, and wife, Vicki Sybert, of Lubbock; sisters Jewell (Don) Roberts, Los Alamos, N.M.; Reva Platt, Longmont, Colo., and Eleanor (Clarence) Kneebone, Boulder, Colo.; sister-in-law Ramona Hicks, Lubbock; brother-in-law Pat (Marsha) Morrow, Wild Rose, Wis., and many nieces and nephews. Honorary pallbearers are Roland Montgomery, Jim Vaught, Randy Armstrong, Eric Armstrong, Stewart Hicks, David Hicks, and Jim Brown, all of Lubbock; Travis Hicks, San Antonio; and Kent Hicks, Taos, N.M.

Ralph was born March 1, 1924, in Cherryvale, Kan., the fifth of eight children and the fourth son of a sharecropper/smelter worker and homemaker. Like many others during the Great Depression, the Montgomery family moved West, settling in Boulder, Colo. In November 1943, he joined the war effort, enlisting in the U.S. Navy after his three older brothers had joined the U.S. Army. He served in the South Pacific aboard several ships that each carried 10,000 tons of munitions, supplying ammunition for all of the invasions, including Iwo Jima. He was honorably dis-charged from the Navy in April 1946 as a Gunner’s Mate Third Class. His service is memorialized along with thousands of other veterans on war memorials in Lubbock and Abilene. He was a true patriot.

Ralph met Carol Morrow in San Diego, Calif., two months before his discharge. They married May 22, 1946, in Berlin, Wis., and lived in Boulder before moving to Lubbock in 1947. A friend told Ralph that Lubbock was a growing city and that carpenters could get jobs. They arrived in Lubbock in a 1937 Plymouth with 50 cents in his pocket and a $10 bill his mother had hidden in Carol’s coin purse. He became an apprentice carpenter for builder Earl Martin, then started a contracting business, Dippel and Montgomery Construction, with co-worker Raymond Dippel. They were respected and reputable builders in Lubbock and the surrounding area. Ralph retired in December 1978 when a stroke left him physically handicapped. Mr. Montgomery was recently honored by receiving his 65-year pin as a 67-year member of the United Brother-hood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local #665.

His immediate and extended family remembers him as a gentle, generous, loving, and caring man who loved his family, his parents and seven siblings beyond himself. He loved children and was a favorite uncle to many nieces and nephews. He loved animals and over the years had taken in several homeless dogs and cats rather than see them go hungry.

Ralph was preceded in death by his parents, Homer and Cordie Payne Montgomery; brothers Charles, Francis and Floyd; and sister Ruth Montgomery Ketchum; his much-loved nieces, Linda Kay Pederson Brown and Jeana Hicks, and nephew, Rodney Platt.

The Montgomery's are members of the First United Methodist Church. The family would like to thank Dr. Melanie Oblender and the caring and compassionate staff and volunteers of the Palliative Medicine Unit for their conscientious support during our loved one’s final weeks; Dr. Cheryl Tyler, Ralph’s physician for her insight and care; Mike Travis and Lynn Jones of the Veterans Administration for their care and respect; and First United Methodist Church members Jerry Casstevens, who visited Ralph and Carol at home often, and his wife, Ann, who sent homemade ginger cookies; and many others who contributed to making his life a better one.

Condolences may be offered at www.resthavenfuneralhome.com