Ralph S. Leeper, 85, of Alna, a retired Naval First Class Petty Officer, passed away April 11 at Maine Medical Center, following a long illness.
He was born May 24, 1921 in Ringold, Tex. and moved to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where he graduated from Los Fresnos High School, class of 1939.
He entered the U.S. Navy and was sent to the South Pacific. He served on the USS Arizona and the USS Vickson. He saw action in New Hebrides, Guadalcanal, Efate in the Solomon Islands, and Bougainville. First Class Petty Officer Leeper retired from the U.S. Navy in 1961 and settled in Rhode Island, working at the North Kingstown Police Department in Rhode Island.
He was one of the founding members of the Wickford (Rhode Island) Yacht Club and a driving force behind its sailing instruction program.
He was married to Regina Wehrwein for 49 years, who predeceased him.
Surviving are his three children, Regina Sweet-Holland and husband Bob, Roxanna Iser and husband Jim from North Kingstown and Warwick, R.I., and Robert Leeper and wife Judy from Hurst, Tex.; grandchildren, Jordan, Heather and Caitlin; great-grandchildren, Brandon, Matthew, Martha, Isabel, Chelsea, and Brittany.
He also leaves his second wife, Sylvia Martin of Alna; brother, Paul Leeper and wife Sybil of Weslaco, Tex.; sister, Thelma Cotton of San Antonio, Tex.; and many nieces, nephews and cousins in Maine and Texas.
Memorial service 11 a.m., Sat., May 12 at St. Pauls Church, Main St., Wickford, R.I.
Celebration of life will follow at the Wickford Yacht Club, Pleasant St., Wickford, R.I.
