Ralph J. Webb

Lt. Col. Ralph James Webb, U.S. Army retired, of Chester, MD died Sunday, June 22, 2008. He was 88. Born June 25, 1920 in St. Paul, MN, he was the son of the late Ralph J. and Catherine Augusta Webb. He was raised by his maternal grandparents, John and Christine Carlson of Shell Lake, Wisconsin. Mr. Webb attended school at Shell Lake through the 11th grade. He then entered the University of Minnesota School of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry graduating in 1939. He was drafted into the Army on December 2, 1941 and was deployed for basic training to Camp Barclay, Texas. On route to Texas by train on December 7, 1941, the announcement was made that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Graduating from Basic Training he was assigned to Officers Candidate School graduating in December 1942 as a 2nd Lt. After several assignments in the U.S. he was assigned in 1946 to the 66th Infantry Division in Gorizia, Italy. Following several tours of duty in the United States, Japan, and Korea, he then attended the Command and General Staff School in 1960 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Upon graduation with the rank of Lt. Col., he was assigned as Commander of the 14th Quartermaster Battalion, 7th U.S. Army in Germany. When he returned to the United States in 1964 he worked at the Army Concepts Analysis Agency in Bethesda, MD where he retired from the Army in 1967. He continued as a civilian operations research analyst with the same agency until retiring in 1982. After serving 25 years as an officer in the U.S. Army, a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, he retired from his distinguished career with the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal and the Legion of Merit. He and his wife retired to Easton, MD where he owned a construction business and later worked part-time at Elliott’s Hardware Store. Lt. Col. Webb is survived by his wife, the former Jean Baynard, a native of Queen Anne’s County, MD, whom he married in 1978; a daughter, Gabrielle Webb of Easton, MD; a sister, Margaret Swenson and her husband Ron of St. Paul, MN, a step-daughter, Elizabeth Scott Nelson and her husband Ross of Stevensville, MD; a step-son, Michael Wayne Scott of Prince George’s County, MD; and granddaughters, Vanessa, Amanda, Sarah, and Lily McCowan, and Arne Scott Nelson. Mr. Webb was predeceased by his first wife, Arvilla Marie McGarry, whom he married in 1941. Arvilla died in 1973. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 11:00 AM at Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., Easton, MD where friends may call one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at the Maryland Eastern Shore Veterans Cemetery, Hurlock, MD. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Queen Anne’s, Inc., 255 Comet drive, Centreville, MD 21617.

Ralph J. Webb

June 25, 1920 - June 22, 2008