Wayne Ralph

Wayne Ralph, 83, of Covington, passed away on Thursday, May 24.  Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 27 at the Oak Grove Baptist Church where he was a lifelong member with interment to follow in Magnolia Gardens Cemetery.  The family will receive friends from 1:30 until 3 on Sunday at the church.  He was a retired control operator for the DuPont Company and also worked for the National Weather Service in Tipton County.  Mr. Ralph was a U. S. Air Force Veteran having served from 1954-1958 and was stationed in North Africa, Libya, Italy and Greece.  He was a member of the Gideons International Organization where he served in the jail ministry where many souls were saved.  Mr. Ralph was active in his church having participated in numerous mission trips in addition to traveling to Haiti in 1995 to assist with hurricane relief efforts.  One of his many passions was collecting antique John Deere tractors and restoring them to like new condition.  He is survived by one son, Robert Wayne Ralph, II of Covington; three sisters, Florence Fee, Patricia Butler and Ellen Newman, all of Covington; three brothers, Roger Ralph, Gale Ralph and Kim Ralph, all of Covington; one step-son, B. J. Howard of Covington; one step-daughter, Melissa Dakin of Millington; his best friend, Virginia Ralph; three step-grandchildren and seven step-great grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Mary Ralph and one brother, Allen Ralph.