Ralph Smith passed away on February 3, 2025.
Funeral Services will be at 10:30 a.m., Friday, February 14, 2025 at Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home, Bemidji, MN. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m., Thursday, February 13, 2025 at Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home, Bemidji, and one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery.
Ralph was born October 7, 1933 in Bemidji, son of Clarence and Alice Smith. Following an undergraduate degree at Notre Dame in 1955, he graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1958. He married Gerry Rivard October 25, 1958. After three years at the Pentagon with the U.S. Army JAG Corps, Ralph and Gerry returned to Bemidji in 1962. They raised three sons, Tom, Dave (Lorelle), and Bill (Margo), and saw them all through graduate school. Ralph was an outstanding lawyer in Bemidji for sixty years. He was on innumerable Boards of Directors for businesses and non-profits, always accepting a leadership role and devoting his high energy and intellect to the effort. Ralph's passion was travel. He literally saw the world pole to pole as one of a very few people ever to have visited both the North Pole and the South Pole. He visited over 130 countries and all 50 states, as well. The travel was mostly with Gerry, but he also managed to take all three sons and all nine grandchildren to some exotic destinations. Although quite reliable and responsible, Ralph was well-known for his quick wit and wry sense of humor.
Ralph is survived by his three children and nine grandchildren, Jeff, Tim, Cheri, Samantha, Joe, Suzi, Carolyn, Madelyn and Nick, as well as ten great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Jean. His parents and wife predeceased him.
Family wishes memorials to be made to St. Philip's Catholic School, Bemidji. |