Brad Belknap Obituary, Death – Ralph Augustus, sr. After a brief illness, Ralph Augustus Belknap Jr., 98, of Dallas, Texas, passed away on August 8, 2022. On May 23, 1924, Ralph Augustus Belknap was born in Dallas, Texas. He was the son of Ralph Augustus Belknap and Virginia Barker. Ralph attended Texas A&M University and Highland Park High School, where he participated in the Corps of Cadets.
Before enrolling in the Midshipmen’s School and Officer Training School of the United States Naval Reserve at the University of Notre Dame, Ralph spent two years at Texas A&M University. He was a “90 Day Wonder” there before being elevated to the rank of Ensign. During World War II, Ralph was a military employee stationed at the Naval Base in San Diego. He was in charge of overseeing tasks related to ship repairs, such as going along with submarines from the Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) on their final checkout dives to make sure repairs had been made correctly.
After the war, Ralph moved back to Texas and enrolled in the University of Texas, where he studied mechanical engineering and was a part of the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi. Although he seemed to be a more devoted UT football fan, we were never able to persuade him to select a side during the UT vs. A&M Lonestar Showdown games. After working for General Electric for a brief period in Schenectady, New York (he thought it was too cold there), Ralph moved back to Dallas. There, he found a position as a production engineer at Plastics Manufacturing Company, where he stayed for almost 20 years. During his tenure there, he was promoted to the position of production manager. In 1950, Ralph first met Lucy Kate Field, with whom he immediately fell in love. On November 20, 1952, they got hitched.
