Ralph Helton Obituary

Ralph Helton Ralph Helton, a successful attorney and a long-time Long Beach resident, passed away September 30, 2010 after battling cancer; he was 62. After earning BS, MBA, and JD degrees, Ralph served as a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County. He joined the private sector as a partner in a large firm in downtown L.A. before starting his own health care law practice in Long Beach. He was later joined by his wife and legal partner, Carrie McLain, and together they operated the Helton Law Group, which continues to thrive after his retirement and passing. Ralph has two older children. Conor Maury is a college student, and his daughter, Carrie Hodges is the mother of Ralph's 4 grandchildren. Ralph and Carrie have two young sons Michael and Spencer. Ralph and his two young boys engaged in all kinds of athletics together, including swimming , surfing, skiing, sailing, and playing baseball and golf. They kept him young, and were in large part his inspiration to battle cancer for every precious day of life. Ralph was very engaging and formed lasting bonds with almost everyone he met. He was also quietly generous with his time and money, whether volunteering as a chaperone or a reader at his boys' schools, sponsoring their sports teams, or buying food and clothes for the homeless. At his law firm he always took the well being of his employees to heart, and he always insisted on high ethical standards in every facet of his business. In short, he was just a decent guy who loved his wife, his children and grandchildren, his family, his friends, his dogs, good food, good wine, nice cars, and sneaking away in the afternoon for a round of golf. Ralph is also survived by his mother, Iva; brother, Turner; sisters, Dorothy, Helen, and Beverly; numerous nieces and nephews, some great in-laws, and of course friends. Memorial Service will be Friday, October 8, 11am, at Belmont Heights United Methodist Church, 317 Termino Ave, Long Beach 90814.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Press-Telegram on Oct. 6, 2010.

Memories and Condolences
for Ralph Helton

11 Entries

LInda and Weldon Birdwell

October 9, 2010

Carrie and families,
Our thoughts and prayers are with you. We are grateful to have known Ralph. Know that he will be watching over you and keeping you all safe.
Love, Linda and Weldon

October 8, 2010

Dear Carrie,
My thoughts and prayers are with you and all of Ralph's family. Ralph set an example to which all of us could aspire in our lives, through his love of family, outstanding legal ability, generosity, ethics and joy of life. I appreciated the time we worked together. Hang in there!
Barbara Reeves Neal (Los Angeles)

John Newcomb

October 8, 2010

“Hey Newcomb,” is how you’ d say hello most of the time. Did you know how proud I was to be your friend? “Hey Newcomb, come over for pizza on Friday.” Opening your house to my family and me meant so much since we were new to Long Beach. “Hey Newcomb, let’s skip dinner in the mess hall and take the boys to get some real food.” This is one of hundreds of memories I have of YMCA camping with you and the boys. “Hey Newcomb, come to Park City for a visit.” Even while sick, you were being generous inviting us to your new home, being active, getting out on the slopes, living life hard. I’m sorry you had to go Ralph and that I can’t hear you say “hey Newcomb,” with your big smile, and easygoing attitude. You taught me a lot about life and I will miss you.

Biking Marine Stadium

John Frasher

October 7, 2010

Mountain Biking in Aliso/Woods Canyon

John Frasher

October 7, 2010

Carrie and the Boys,

I am so sorry for your loss. Ralph was a genuine good guy. He lived a life that placed family number one. I am grateful for the experiences that my family and I shared with him.

Love and Blessings

Glenn Kim Jana Brendan McLain

October 7, 2010

Our Prayers, Our thoughts, Our Love goes out to all of you. It is the world's loss when god is in need of a great man

Heather Landrum

October 7, 2010

Dear Carrie and boys,

Wow, I just found out about Ralph's passing and I just can't beleive it. He was a wonderful man and was always wonderful to me. He was a wonderful father and filled that role for me when I was younger. I am so sad that it has been 6 years since I alst saw him but he has always had a special part in my heart and will always continue to. My prayers are with you and the boys....

Bill Phillips

October 6, 2010

Ralph - From the moment I met you at the Seal Beach Christmas Parade in 2005, I knew you were one of a kind. Through our camping trips to Oaks and Camp Fox - hanging out with you was something I always looked forward to...along with drinking good wine or Scotch. You have such a great sense of humor - and always gave us Bows and Arrows your unique perspective on the world - I miss those times, and I will miss you amigo. You made a difference in my life, and I will never forget you. I found this picture from Camp Surf '06 - one of those rare moments. I hope wherever you are and whoever you are hanging out with knows how lucky they are to be close to you - I hope someday our paths will cross again. God Bless you.

Tom and Vicki Thompson

October 6, 2010

We will seldom meet someone like Ralph in our all too short lifetimes. Ralph could make you laugh at will but yet had a serious caring style that endured. Although we haven't seen him in years, we sometimes heard about him through friends. And even with those infrequent updates, we knew he was living large and making a difference in someone's life. Ralph will be missed but never will be forgotten by those of us lucky enough to have known him.

Michael Appelhans

October 4, 2010

Dear Carrie,
I don't know of any words that would convey our feelings on the passing of Ralph. He was always the one with the energy and the drive to do it all. He lived life to the fullest and the two of you made a great couple. Ralph was a friend and a very good attorney and I am proud to have known him and worked with him for the past 19 years. I still remember our first meeting years ago, as he had that cocky attitude, which served him well in his chosen profession of litigation. We tracked each other for years. My family also got to know you guys and all of them are sad at his passing. I will always remeber him in the vein I knew him as a great guy, a lot of fun and a very good lawyer. I know the boys will be well taken care of by you, and I know that Ralph would have been grateful for the wonderful years the two of you had together.

If there is anything you need, please let us know.

Love,

Michael and Gloria Appelhans

October 2, 2010

Dear Carrie,

We are so saddened to learn of Ralph's passing. I was just talking to someone a few weeks ago about Ralph and what a great dad and all around good guy he was. Ralph always had a big hug and a smile ready when you saw him. He looked so wonderful at your boat parade party last December and, as always, was so full of life in spite all he had been through. That's how we'll remember him - the consummate host.

Our love to you and the boys during what I know will be a difficult transition.

Love,

Kurt and Elizabeth Borsting

Showing 1 - 11 of 11 results