- Date Of Birth: May 18, 1943
- Date Of Death: January 31, 2021
- State: Indiana
Mr. Ralph Dale Johns, 78, of rural White Pigeon, MI, passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, January 31, 2021 at 2:25 pm. He was born in Monon, IN on May 18, 1943 to the late Ralph and Eva Grace (Wilson) Johns. He is also preceded in death by spouses Sharon and Linda Johns, who were the mothers of his children.
Ralph is also survived by his children, Cindy Powers, Diana Meadows and Tina Bontrager, all of Goshen, Jamie Murphy of South Bend, Shanna (Russ) Waterman of Jones, Lori Crice of Edwardsburg and Justin D. Johns of Elkhart; brother Melvin (Brenda) Johns of Niles; sister Joyce (Joe) Stiff of Prescott, AZ, and a loving host of grands, great-grands, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, out-laws, drinking buddies, fellow truckers and good friends, including his special pal and favorite lil’ sidekick Justin “Pigpen” Scarcella. His two brothers Bob and Jim Johns also precede Ralph in death.
When asked what Ralph loved the most in life, the family responded with a resounding “Semis and Budweiser!!!” Ralph spent the majority of his life hauling America’s lifeblood of goods from coast to coast, viewing the majority of our country’s majestic beauty through the confines of his truck’s windshield. He was happiest sitting up in the driver’s seat and had a stellar safety record that spanned nearly 5 decades.
Many of his runs kept him away from his beloved family for weeks or months at a time, so when it was time to come home for a while, Ralph would do everything he could to make the most out of his stay at home. Interestingly enough, Ralph had a unique talent for being able to make it home for all of the important dates and holidays even though he had long driving schedules. This meant the world to his children, who celebrated every time they saw that old cab coming down the road. “Daddy’s Home!!!!” …and the excitement would begin!
Ralph was an honorably discharged US Army veteran, serving as an electrician during the Korean War. He was also a proud conservative and NRA member, loved to watch Westerns and the news when he was home (especially FOX), enjoyed working on his house and yard and just loved to break out the grill whenever he could. As we alluded to earlier, Ralph loved his children very much and would spend as much time with them as he could. This often times translated to spending time with all the neighbor’s kids as well, but Ralph just accepted the fact that he was “dad” to pretty much the entire neighborhood, so it was all good. He left a wonderful lasting impression on all who knew him and he’ll be sorely missed.
