- Date Of Birth: July 21, 1926
- Date Of Death: May 12, 2021
- State: Colorado
Our beloved Dad, Father-in-Law, Grandpa, Greatgrandpa, Uncle and good friend to many around the world….went Home to hear “Well done. Well done good and faithful servant” on May 12, 2021, at the age of 94. He had a short illness and was in Skyridge Hospital in Lone Tree, Colorado.
Ralph Whitlock, was born July 21, 1926, in Mt Vernon, Illinois, the youngest of 13 children, not all of whom survived infancy and, in fact, one succumbed to the Spanish Flu of 1917. Due to family challenges, he was placed in a Masonic Orphanage south of Chicago, where he lived for a number of years from age 3. His mother, having remarried, took him to live on a farm in southern Illinois, and then at age 17, he joined the Navy, but not before meeting his wife-to-be, Marilyn Bernise Pace, an elevator operator at the University of Chicago. She would later become his wife and and love of his life for 67 years, before she passed away in November 2013.
Ralph served on the U.S.S. Halloran, a Navy Destroyer Escort, in the Pacific in WWII. He experienced extensive combat, including serving at both Iwo Jima and Okinawa, where his ship underwent a kamikaze attack. Discharged from the military, at the end of WWII, he returned to Chicago and married Marilyn and reentered civilian life along with millions of others of the Greatest Generation. He became an electrician, working in the Greater Chicago area and was a 72 year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 134.
Ralph often shared and included in all his public presentations, that there were three significant relationships in his life. The first one was at age 17, coming to faith and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the second was joining the Navy at age 17, and then marrying the love of his life at age 20, his wife, Marilyn, of 67 years. Of those three significant relationships, he said only one remained, and that was the one with Jesus Christ. Hours before his death, he was expressing his deep love for God and was excited for Eternity. He shared his faith with almost everyone he met. He was a joy to the medical staff at Skyridge, and many asked to take care of him on their shifts.
He was a longtime resident of Parker, Colorado, since 1989.
Ralph Whitlock is survived by son, Dennis Whitlock and wife, Susan; Grandson, Tristan Whitlock and wife, Elizabeth; great grandchildren, Thane, Amaris and Elijah, and Grandson, Jacob Whitlock, all from Colorado. He is also survived by sister-in-law Marian Buzan of Barrignton, Illinois, and nephew, Rick Venuso and wife Joy of Cary, Illinois. On the Whitlock side of the family, he is survived by nieces Sandy, Nancy, Roberta, Janet, and nephew Randy, as well as many great nieces and nephews.
Preceded in death by his parents, Ora and Flossie Whitlock, his wife, Marilyn (Pace) Whitlock, son, Scott Whitlock and siblings Clarence, Archie, Kenneth, Keith, James, Dorothy and Robert.
Light Refreshments To Follow
Parker Hills Bible Fellowship
7137 Parker Hills Ct, Parker, CO 80138
