Ralph Franklin Winnie

Ralph Franklin Winnie

Ralph Franklin Winnie was born at home July 4, 1927, at his family's Catskill Mountain Resort in Norton Hill, New York, and died at home on February 8, 2005, in Shoreline, Washington, with his loving family by his side.
Ralph is survived by his wife of 51 years, Margaret Hoppe-Winnie; five children, John Winnie (Kim) of Edmonds, Yvonne Malland (Greg) of Mukilteo, Jeanne McAree (Mark) of Shoreline, Suzanne Mitchell (Mike) of Edmonds, and Douglas Winnie of Bellingham; grandchildren, Trista and Trevor Winnie, Tamara, Michael, and Alyssa Malland, Patrick and Henry McAree, Bailey and David Knoll, and Kelsey Mitchell. He is also survived by his brother, Leland Brown of Norton Hill, New York; numerous nieces and nephews and loyal friends.
Ralph was preceded in death by his father, Burton Winnie; his mother, Cora Stanton Winnie Brown, his step-father, Frank Brown; his brothers, Warren Winnie and Stanton Winnie; sister, Loretta Winnie; and his granddaughter, Marisa Winnie.
A graduate of Greenville Central High School, Greenville, New York, Ralph enlisted in the United States Navy in 1944. As a veteran of World War II, he was a plank holder and radioman aboard the aircraft carrier USS Boxer in the Pacific theater and on Admiral O.B. Hardeson's Carrier Division 5 staff. He graduated in 1951 from Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, and retired from the Boeing Co. after 40 years of service.
During his career at Boeing, Ralph was involved in many military projects including the B-52, B-1, Roland, MX and 16 years on the Minuteman missile system. Ralph was the Boeing engineering representative for the radio control subcontractor on the Minuteman missile during the space race (1959) at Cape Canaveral, Florida. He was responsible for the radio control systems and telemetry design for transmitting missile measurements during space flight. Ralph was extremely proud of his involvement in this design and of the first instrumentation and computer radio data transmissions from space.
Ralph's passion was baseball. He was a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (S.A.B.R.), the National Baseball Hall of Fame Research Committee, the Pacific Northwest Baseball Hall of Fame Committee, the Northwest Old Timers Baseball Association, and a founding member of the Washington State Sports Collectors Association. He was an avid baseball historian and collector as well as a freelance sports writer with articles published in The Baseball Digest, Sports Scoop, The Sports Fan, Baseball Weekly, and The Baseball Bulletin. His book titled "What If" predicted the statistics of major league baseball players fighting in WWII, had their playing careers not been interrupted by wartime service. He provided extensive research for four major baseball encyclopedias. His other interests included genealogy, gardening, jazz music as well as volunteering in the parish office at Holy Rosary.
A Recitation of the Rosary will be held at 7:00 p.m., Friday, February 11, 2005, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 630 - 7th Ave. N. in Edmonds, with a Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, February 12, 2005, also at Holy Rosary Catholic Church. A reception will follow the Mass at the church.
Interment will follow at Holyrood Catholic Cemetery, Shoreline, Washington.
Arrangements: Beck's Funeral Home, Edmonds, (425) 771-1234.
Donations will be gratefully accepted in honor of Ralph Winnie to the Holy Rosary Building Fund, 630 - 7th Ave. N, Edmonds, Washington, 98020, or to Group Health Hospice, Group Health Community Foundation, 1730 Minor Ave., Suite 1500, Seattle, Washington, 98101.