Ralph Ehlers

Ralph Ehlers, 92, Minot

died on Wednesday, June

8, 2022 in a Minot hospi-

tal.

Ralph William Ehlers

was born on August 29,

1929 in Lake City, MN to

John and Meta (Willers)

Ehlers. He was raised and

educated there and gra-

duated from Lincoln High

School in 1947. He con-

tinued his education at

the North Dakota State

School of Science in

Wahpeton where he re-

ceived specialized train-

ing and certification in

the electrical trades. As a

young adult he was em-

ployed by Northern States

Power Company (NSP) in

Fargo prior to enlisting in

the United States Navy on

November 16, 1950. He

was initially stationed at

Norfolk, VA and attended

aviation electronics

school in Tennessee.

Ralph married Betty

Loomis on June 10, 1951

in Fargo. They made their

home in Jacksonville FL

where Ralph was then sta-

tioned with the Navy. He

received his honorable

discharge on September

15, 1954 and they re-

turned to the

Fargo-Moorhead area

where he continued his

employment with NSP.

The family moved to

Minot in 1963 when he

was transferred by the

company, and he retired

from NSP in 1988. Betty

died on January 24, 2012

just a few months follow-

ing their 60th wedding

anniversary. His daughter

Deanna Kaylor died on

March 30, 2022. Most re-

cently Ralph had been

residing at Trinity Homes

in Minot.

Over the years in

Minot, Ralph was very ac-

tive in the Minot and

Minot AFB communities.

He was a longtime

member of Christ Luth-

eran Church, the Air

Force Association,

Chamber of Commerce,

Village Family Services,

Norsk Hostfest, Lions

Club, American Legion,

Elks Lodge, Eagles Aerie

and Red Cross, most often

in leadership roles. Ralph

received many awards

and accolades from the or-

ganizations for which he

volunteered his time.

Ralph especially enjoyed

hunting, fishing, golfing,

and joining his morning

coffee group daily, as

well.

Ralph’s loving family

includes his children:

Ronald (Joanne) Ehlers of

Mission Viejo CA, Nancy

(David) Rehbein of Farm-

ington NM, and Randal

(Sandra) Ehlers of Bur-

lington; son-in-law: Tim

Kaylor of Minot;

grandchildren: Brandee

(Matt) Huss, Edina MN,

Melissa Panzer and com-

panion Michael Wilson,

Minot, Rebecca (Jason)

Smith, Burlington, John

Ehlers, Minot, and

Lindsey (Kouadjo) Bini,

Minot; great grandchil-

dren: Oliva and Matthew

Huss, Edina MN, Alex-

ander, Cierra Rose and

Maddison Panzer, all

Minot, and William,

Christopher and Kaylynn

Smith, all Burlington;

brother-in-law: Dr. Gor-

don Loomis, Yreka CA;

and a number of nieces,

nephews and cousins.

Ralph was preceded in

death by his parents; Bet-

ty, his loving wife of 60

years; Deanna, his

beloved daughter; and his

brother Morris Ehlers of

Lake City MN.

Celebration of the Life

of Ralph Ehlers: Wednes-

day, June 15, 2022 at

10:00 a.m. in Christ Luth-

eran Church – Minot. To

view and livestream of the

service or share memories

and condolences access

his obituary page at

www.thomasfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Interment will be in the

North Dakota Veterans

Cemetery – rural Man-

dan.

Visitation: Tuesday,

June 14, 2022 from 3:00

p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Tho-

mas Family Funeral Home

– Minot.

Memorials are preferred

to Christ Lutheran Church

– Minot or Village Family

Services Foundation.