Ralph Arthur Crain

Ralph A. Crain, 93, of Marietta passed on August 5 after a long life well lived. Born May 13, 1932 in St. Louis, MO, Mr. Crain enlisted in the USAF in 1950, and served much of that time at Thule AFB in Greenland, where he was a lab and medical technician. Much of his mission at Thule was classified ("They told us not to talk about it so I don't"), but he reminisced frequently about his team that diagnosed and treated tuberculosis among the Inuits as he traveled to Native villages and towns and became very fond of Greenlanders.

During his USAF years, Mr. Crain earned an Associate Degree through a joint University of Maryland/DoD program, and also studied engineering at Rutgers University.

The day after his honorable discharge, he married Dolores Theresa Walaszek of New Jersey. He then took a position as a draftsman with Western Electric, and relocated his young family to the new Southeast Regional Headquarters in Atlanta, where he worked his way up to Systems Engineer. As part of a team that designed and installed telecommunications systems, he traveled to South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and China. He took early retirement from AT&T in 1989 and threw himself into family, community and church activities.

Mr. Crain was a Life Member of the American Legion Post 160 in Smyrna, GA. With his family, he was a charter member of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, the first fully integrated parish in growing Cobb County. He coached and/or attended years of youth baseball and softball games, track meets, tennis matches, band concerts, dance recitals, swim meets and graduations.

Predeceased by his parents, Harry Crain and Faye Elaine nee' Scarlett Crain Jacobs; his brother Bob Crain; his brothers-in-law Brian Forbes, Joseph Ferraro, John Walaszek; and sisters-in-law MaryAnn Walaszek, Donna Crain, Sandra Ferraro, and Joan Mantz; and by beloved in-laws Catherine and John Walaszek.

Left to cherish his memory are his adored wife of 70 years and 363 days, Dolores; his son, Stephen R. Crain; and his daughters and their spouses Deborah Wilkes (Alan), Linda C. Rehkopf (Chris), and Julie Smith (Tim).

He is survived by his granddaughters and their spouses Leigh Anne Rehkopf (Ian Woolard) and Haley Mills Moore (Thomas); and his grandsons and their spouses, Travis Crain (Marlee) and Dustin Crain (L'amour). Also surviving are three great-grandchildren, Jackson, Rowan, and Lucy Crain, and step-great-grandson Jules Woolard.

Also surviving are his brother, Harlan Crain, and sister, Rhonda Crain Forbes, along with dozens of special nieces and nephews from coast to coast, his children's friends especially Kim Byrd, and the surviving spouses and children of his "gang," the transplants to the South who worked for the Bell System, especially Carol Huff. He was a godfather to many and beloved by all.

A Mass of the Resurrection with military honors will be held Wednesday, August 13 at 4 o'clock p.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 4300 King Springs Road, Smyrna, GA 30082. Father Brian Sheridan, M.S., is principal celebrant. Interment of his remains will take place at a later date at Veterans National Cemetery in Canton, GA.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations to St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Smyrna, an organization devoted to helping the poor and which the family has supported for decades. A link to donate is on his obituary on the website for West Cobb Funeral Home --westcobbfuneralhome.com - which has been entrusted to his care.

"Every Memory Should End in Laughter. Every Day Should Be Lived."