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Note: Meaning of the name Ralph: [ 1 syll. ral-(p)(h), ra-l-ph ] The boy name Ralph is pronounced as RAELF . Ralph is used chiefly in the English and German languages, and its origin is Germanic. The name's meaning is wise and strong.
1930 Census: Age 2. Born in NY Lives at 163 Main Street, Kings Park, LI, NY. with parents Irving and Dora and brothers George (5) & Norman (7) and Sonia Hilda, the 19 year old servant from Germany. He is too young to read and write.
T-626 roll 1652 pg 28 - Heritage Quest , ED 52-108, SD6 page 8A
1940 Census - Lived in Kings Park or East Northport, LI, NY (with his mother and brothers) Can't find this family!
1950 Census - Lived in Kings Park or East Northport, LI, NY (with his mother and brothers)
1954 - 1960; 1960 Census - Lived at 6 Orton Dr. East Northport, Huntington, Suffolk, L.I., NY (with first wife and daughter)
1960 - 1969 - Lived with his mother on Main St., Huntington, LI, NY (now separated from Phyllis)
1969 - 2020 - Lives at 20 Shawnee St., Centerport, LI, NY (with his second wife, Evelyn, until 2019)
Ralph Meyers is a WWII veteran. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Corps during WWII in Nov. 1945 at the age of 18. His rank was Corporal, service # 12223407. He served as a radio and radar repair specialist in the AACS dept. (Army Airways Communications System) from Nov. 1945 - Nov. 1947. From Aug. - Nov. 1947, he was hospitalized for allergies. He received an honorable discharge.
The only Ralph Meyers listed was born in 1924 from Kings.
National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database on-line].
Eulogies
~Hello Everybody~
“My father would always introduce me as ‘my other daughter, Susan.’
He was a father to Linda, my step-sister, friends & neighbors.
For ME he was a PART TIME dad.
He would brag about others making me think where is my place. What about me and my family?
I was always looking for my fathers approval.
My parents separated when I was 4. The same age my dad lost his dad.
I would look forward to every other Sunday at 1 pm on the dot. In-between meals. We would go to places that were free or low cost.
I think back on the lessons my father taught me.
He would take me on “my days” to the airport, where we went to the end of the terminal and watch the take offs and landings. The pilot had to pull back when the plane was just at the correct angle to land the back tires and then the front for a smooth landing. You see my dad was in the U.S. Air Corps during WWII as a Radio man working in the tower.
He took me Bowling at a young age. He was in a league. “Place your left foot just to the right of the middle dot. Thumbs up and aim for the pocket between 1st & 3rd pin for a strike.” Of course I got a lot of gutter balls.
I came out to THE ISLAND for all holidays. We would go to THE STORE. (My grandmothers store, Dora Meyers corset shop.) Aunt Etta and Grandma would give me attention in-between customers. I would love to find treasures in the lost and found drawer, that uncle George gave me permission to take.
We would go to uncle George and Aunt Joan’s 4th of July parties, where my dad was Pyrotechnics in charge of the Fireworks, because he had a lighter. It was a big birthday party for me since I was the 5th and there was a birthday cake.
At Christmas I learned how to put up the perfect tree. We went to Harrods, then came back to THE HOUSE to: 1st evenly wrap the lights, next the garland in perfect loops, then the ornaments dispersed evenly and finally the Angel or Star on top. Christmas Eve was at Aunt Joan & Uncle George’s where carolers would come to the door and aunt Joan would give them homemade cookies. We would return Christmas Day when we opened presents with the cousins.
Dad would love eating out Chinese, because it was cheap. He also liked diners because of the portions. “Don’t fill up on the bread," “Eat all your food.”
My dad & step-mom Evie, would be particular on setting the table: fold the napkin in a triangle to the left of the plate with the fork. To the right of the plate, place the knife, blade pointing in, then the spoon.
My dad was all about FAMILY. We would visit the elderly relatives. There were so many. And how are all these Patiky’s related to me? I made a chart that turned into a genealogy hobby, which is why many of you are here today.
Before a GPS there was my dad. He would go on, in great detail, on how to get anywhere. And he probably would have known a better route to get here today, so I would have been on time.
My dad was into cars. He graduated from General Motors Institute in Flint, MI to be a Car dealer & salesman. He didn’t like risk and made a career in being a PARTS Manager instead.
He put together miniature metal model cars before I was born using tweezers to carefully apply the pieces. My children and myself each have 2 cars as memorabilia. We plan to present the Kings Park Fire Department with a fire steamer he made, tying in he was born in Kings Park and that our uncle Elias, started the first fire department there, after a tremendous fire burnt down the family businesses and the entire town had to be moved.
If it wasn’t GM my dad was raving about, it was GE. He was very persuasive. A true salesman.
He loved animals. He taught me to recognize many dog breeds.
I loved watching dad get on the floor with my kids to put together & play with a new toy.
In the garden, he taught me to pick only the ripe vegetables and peaches. And how to identify each one for the size & color. Then throw the bad peaches over the fence.
In the basement he had his woodworking workshop - Always make pilot hole before putting in a screw. Stain in one direction, with the grain. Always use an angled brush, cutting the edge when painting walls to ceilings.
My father gave me my love for Photography - My first lesson was when was 8, with a camera I won. It was a runner-up prize in a contest to ride with Soupy Sales, in a Macys day Parade float. “Have the Sun over your left shoulder, pay attention to composition, don’t cut off heads.” Recently, when looking though his photos labeled and kept in order, April said, “Now I know where you get that from.”
He would stretch the canvas of my Needlepoint for me to work on it. “Stitch a row in one direction and then backtrack to cross in the other.” “It’s not a race, it’s supposed to be relaxing.”
He loved Cross Word puzzles and Jigsaw Puzzles. “Always start with the corners and work around the edges.”
He started me on a Coin collection. “Always keep them in their folders and never clean the coins or they will loose their value.”
The biggest lesson drilled in me was “Don’t waste money!”
Time together was limited, but I always knew I was loved. Something we don’t say enough to our family. I got the chance just before he died to make sure I told my dad I loved him. “
~Thank You~
Susan Meyers Field
“Thank you all for being here to honor my Papa, Ralph Meyers.
When I was younger I was always excited when Papa and Grandma Evie came to visit. I knew that when they came through that door that I was about to get the BEST hug. Papa hugged with all his heart, and I think he cherished each of those hugs too. He got such joy out of seeing us grow up and I could see how much he enjoyed his great grandchildren as well.
In the months since his passing, I've recognized certain traits we share. We both liked to build things, have a great attention to detail, and could get lost in a puzzle. How appropriate, that I was working on a puzzle as he passed. I can see how he lives on through us.
Another thing we shared was a love of chocolate. Papa always had a way of sniffing out where the chocolates were hiding, no matter how well they were hidden, and once he found them, he would share his bounty with me and my brothers.
Papa was a kind and generous man, always willing to help a neighbor in need, and he ALWAYS knew what the neighbors needed. He was happiest around his loved ones and I think he'd be happy to see us all here today.”
April Field Schneider
“To honor Ralph Meyers, I would humbly like to share words I written the day after Ralph’s death. For on that day I wrote the following essay expressing my thoughts which I will share with you shortly. But first an introduction to my thought process that day. For that day the grieving process truly began. First, you are flooded with many emotions that need to be processed in order to make sense of it all. How do you make sense of losing a father-n-law to this horrible pandemic? The many what-if’s…: what if he never went out and stayed completely socially distanced, what if we had a competent and compassionate President?: what if he lived to get vaccinated just weeks later? I could go on but let me leave the what-ifs there.They are just wishes things were different. They cannot be changed. So let me reflect on the multitude of one’s life. The flashes of memories of family time spend together, the lessons learned, the many questions you wished you asked that will go unanswered, the regrets, the words you wish you said, the hugs, the funny moments, the lush vegetables from the garden, the lighting of the grill, conversations yes the conversations sitting around the living room, dining table and the screen room. Yes, times of understanding, other times of misunderstandings, many wishes, endearing moments, holidays with the kids’ laughter opening up presents, Ah… yes above all, love. Yes, love. The love of family and friends. Yes! But above all let me focus on the love Ralph and Evie had for each other. It was contagious and ever present whenever we got together. The atmosphere of love was always there during the 4 to 6 times a year for 20 years we went out to visit them in Long Island from Brooklyn (Yes Ralph, I know all the short cuts around The town of Huntington {Sorry! I took a wrong turn today} and then a few times a year from Pennsylvania for the next 20 years. (Sorry, I used the GPS.)Yes love…their love was very special, a shining light whenever we visited. Therefore, I decided to focused on this, the day after Ralph Meyer’s death.But let’s make their love not lost in the past but the very present. I don’t want this to be a distanced memory lost with passage of time. Remembering the famous quote from William Faulkner, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” It’s meaning has moved beyond the characters in his story to a significant broader meaning for real life. For you see the present is always built from moments in the past. Therefore the past is always present affecting not only what is happening now but also influencing the future. For in death, a person’s essence, their light continues to influence our present and future lives. For it was this loving relationship that Ralph and Evie had for each other that will continue to be our guiding light. And so this is what I imagined or rather I believe really happened on the day Ralph passed away. And would like to share with all of you today. In the Light of Love The Day After the Winter Solstice In the Dark Days Of 2020: A Eulogy Barry Field It was no surprise he waited to die after the darkest day of the year. The first day after the winter solstice. For on this day he knew the light begins to shine longer and brighter overtaking darkness. So that morning, ninety-three years and 3 months after his birth, he turned away from the darkness that took hold of him due to the COVID-19 virus. Instead he turned his attention on the light of heaven shining in the distance. First, he listened to “I love you!” and the final goodbyes from his loving daughters. Then the nurse put the phone down. She made him comfortable. He was ready. The suffering stopped suddenly. He felt at peace with the world as his soul was released. He was able to move forward towards the light. It shone brighter and brighter as he climbed upward feeling the warmth of love surrounding him. He climbed higher until he reached his destination. He took his place in heaven next to his love Evie as their ancestors who set the path of life so long ago for them rejoiced. They glowed as they smiled, embraced by the warmth of the light of love. Heaven! Looking down from heaven they were at peace and harmony with the universe. For they knew that darkness never was here to stay. Like the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn shining like the star of Bethlehem that fateful day. He knew the light of heaven will shine through the darkness. It will always bring with it the time for renewal, embracing life. And within that light their essence lives on, LOVE. Always present with friends and family filled with fond memories. As well as guiding their future generation with wisdom and a brighter future. RIP Ralph Meyers”
Barry Field
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