He was born March 8, 1929, in St. Louis, Mo. the son of Julius and Anna (Stilt) Hammel. He married Betty Thompson on June 26, 1949 in Carlyle, IL.
Ralph is survived by his wife of seventy-one years; 4 children, Beverly (Stephen) Hammel Zavodny, William (Holly) Hammel, Jeffry Hammel and Mary Beth Antar; and 2 grandsons, Alex Hammel and Jacob Hammel. He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Clinton Hammel; and one sister, Eleanor Shepherd.
Ralph was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of WW II and Korea, he served aboard the U.S.S. Missouri and in the Second Marine Division. While on the Missouri he was part of President Harry Truman’s personal guard when Truman used the Missouri as his headquarters for a goodwill trip to Brazil in 1947.
In 1948, he began working as a lineman for Illinois Bell in Centralia IL. He retired in 1984 as Area Manager for AT&T, in Peoria, with 36 years of service with the Bell System. He served for seven years on the Pleasant Valley School Board, District #62. He was President for six of those years.
He was a member of South-West Kiwanis, in Peoria, since 1980 and received the Louis Amador award in 1996 for outstanding service. He served for many years as a volunteer at the Peoria County Jail, conducting jail tours, twice a week, for eighth grade students. He was a former member of the VFW and a Life Member of the American Legion.
Ralph had an adventurous spirit and took numerous trips to Alaska in search of gold. He was a wood worker and crafted many toys for tots for his Kiwanis group as well as beautiful custom bird houses which were auctioned for charity and coveted by many.
Funeral services will be at 11:00 am Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at Davison-Fulton Woodland Chapel. Visitation will be two hours prior to services. Rev Cleveland Thomas Sr. will officiate. Burial will be in Parkview Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to M.I.R.F.A., Alzheimer’s Association, or South-West Kiwanis. To view Ralph’s memorial page or to leave an online condolence please go to www.davison-fulton.com.
