Ralph Judd

Ralph, loving husband, proud father and caring grandfather, devoted son, brother and friend, passed away peacefully at his daughter's home in Seattle on Dec. 28, 2021 at age 94.

Ralph was born in Bremerton, WA to Donald and Lovina Judd, and had three sisters and two brothers. Along with his brothers, he rowed boats around and fished in Anderson Cove as a kid, enjoying proximity to the Puget Sound. In his youth he helped his dad in the garden and with his early morning dairy route and, in high school, during WWII, he worked at Lent's Sheet Metal in Bremerton.

Upon graduating from Bremerton High School in early 1945, Ralph joined the US Merchant Marine and, having learned morse code after school at the radio club in high school, aced the radio operator licensing test and served for 4 years as a radio operator/officer. His work assignments took him on many voyages to countries throughout the Pacific.

In 1950 he was drafted into the US Army and sought opportunities to train in radar technology, attending Army schools in Maryland and New Mexico. After an honorable discharge in 1952, he returned home to Bremerton and was hired for the electronics apprenticeship program in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS), which he completed in 1957.

Ralph met Sarah on a blind date in 1956, and they married in 1957. They lived near family in Bremerton, where they raised three daughters, and enjoyed 56 years together. During these years Ralph worked in electronics and logistics at PSNS Supply Center and PSNS Planning & Estimating & Repair for Aircraft Carriers (PERA) group. Ralph retired from PSNS in 1985 and continued to work for Navy contractors until 1990 when he began full retirement.

Throughout his life, Ralph enjoyed fishing, golfing, taking drives in Kitsap County (he drove for almost 80 years), playing cribbage with his brother-in-law, Frank Demko, working on many home and car maintenance projects and taking family camping trips to Sun Lakes, Point-No-Point and Fort Worden as well as many other family trips. Ralph was the Saturday morning breakfast cook at home and on camping trips, mastering hotcakes and sausage. He also loved cookies, especially snickerdoodles.

During their retirement years, Ralph and Sarah enjoyed touring Europe by train, cruising to Alaska and two extensive motorhome road trips around North America. Together they spent 17 years socializing as snowbirds in Yuma, AZ. Ralph enjoyed the desert of Arizona and, for fun, took up gold prospecting and metal detecting. Upon Sarah's passing in 2013, Ralph moved to Canterbury Manor Senior Community in Bremerton where he thoroughly enjoyed seven years of good friendships, activities and outings.

Ralph was preceded in death by his wife Sarah, parents Donald and Lovina Judd, sisters Alice Hall and Carol Bayes, and brothers Donald and Charles Judd. He is survived by his sister Doris Demko; daughters Brenda (David) Chamness of Shoreline, Laura (Mike) Ritzow and Vicki (Michael) Paulus of Seattle; and grandchildren, Nathaniel Chamness, Abigail (David) Sachs, Solomon Ritzow, Junia Paulus and Elizabeth Paulus, and many dear friends and relatives.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. at Lewis Funeral Chapel. Masks will be required. Memorial donations can be made to Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County.