Ralph Joseph Gonzales

Born on July 28, 1919, in the zinc mining town of Ziesing, West Virginia as the fifth of eight children of Rafaela and Emanuel Gonzales, both from Aviles, Spain, Rafael “Ralph” spent his early life in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. Despite the Depression, the stories Ralph told of his youth were happy ones, filled with the time he spent with his older twin brothers picking huckleberries for sale and learning to read by going to the silent movies, along with playing baseball in the park after school and being the manager of his high school football team. During WWII Ralph worked for the Signal Corps, eventually being relocated to St. Louis where he met and married Marian Evelyn Goodfellow. They moved to the D.C. area for new jobs, started their family of three children and were one of the first residents of the new Springfield, Virginia community. Ralph and Marian were active in the new community’s life. Ralph took joy in the fact that the local swimming club they helped establish and run produced an Olympian swimmer. Ralph and Marian were again “first residents” when they moved into the Greenspring Retirement Community in Springfield over 25 years ago. Ralph was a life-long self-taught learner with varied interests. He was an early adopter of the computer, which allowed him to continue to keep up with current events despite significant loss of sight at age 80. He excelled at woodworking and calligraphy, he enjoyed investing in the stock market, organizing several investment clubs over the years, and he must have had one of the longest running poker clubs, playing cards once a month with the same group of friends for over 45 years.

Ralph was a devoted husband and father who encouraged his children in their education and activities. Ralph attended their high school debate tournaments, sometimes serving as a judge, and officiated at swimming meets. Upon retiring from the U. S. Army Material Command in 1974 Ralph and Marian became world travelers, visiting all the continents other than Antarctica. And when each grandchild (and their spouse) arrived on the scene, he became their biggest fan.

Ralph lived an amazing life of over 104 years. If asked, he attributed his longevity to moderation in living. After Marian’s death in 2018, Ralph lived on his own in their Greenspring apartment until he died peacefully in his sleep on February 29, 2024.

Ralph was also preceded in death by his siblings. He is survived by his children Joanne (Richard) Rodewald, Cathy (Paul) O’Kelly and Clifford (Julie) Gonzales, his grandchildren Emma (Tim) Daisy, Brian Rodewald, Colleen O’Kelly (Tony Costanza), Myles O’Kelly (Melissa Weiss), Joseph Gonzales, Mark Gonzales and Kate Gonzales, his great-grandchildren Lewis and Nina Daisy and John Rafael and Lily Evelyn Costanza, and many nieces and nephews.