Ralph Merlin Waller

1932 - 2015

Ralph Merlin Waller, 82, of Fort Worth passed away Thursday, July 9, 2015. Celebration of life: 1 p.m. Wednesday at Sagamore Baptist Church, 2301 Dottie Lynn Parkway. Interment: Private family service. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Shannon Rose Hill Funeral Chapel, 7301 E. Lancaster Ralph was born Sept. 6, 1932, to Edgar and Nancy Waller in Crescent, Okla. He graduated in 1950 from Guthrie High School in Guthrie, Okla. He attended Oklahoma Baptist University where he met his wife, Joyce. He graduated from Texas Wesleyan with bachelor of science and master of education degrees. He served in the military at Fort Campbell, Ky. He retired from the Fort Worth ISD. Ralph was active in the Breakfast Optimist Club of East Fort Worth, which he joined in 1964 serving as president of the club in 1970-71, achievement and awards chairman 1973-74, lieutenant governor 1974-75, finance chairman 1977-78 and vice president of Optimist International in 1985. He prepared the club bulletin for many of those years. Ralph and Joyce were pivotal in planning and preparing the Optimist spaghetti supper, a fundraiser for the club, for many years. He was an active member of Sagamore Baptist Church for 60 years. He and his wife traveled extensively to all 50 states as well as many foreign countries. He was selected "Business Man of the Year." He had an exhaustive interest in ancestry, visiting many cemeteries around the states. Survivors: Daughter, Vicki Miller of Boyd; grandson, Mark Miller of Carrollton; granddaughter, DiAnn Barton and husband, Keith, of Haslet; great-granddaughter, Hailey Barton; four nieces; eight nephews; nine great-nieces; 13 great-nephews; many, many great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews; and a host of friends.