Ralph N. Baggett

1918 - 2005

Ralph N. Baggett, 86, passed away Wednesday, March 16, 2005, in Granbury.

Graveside service: 1 p.m. Friday in Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, Dallas.

Mr. Baggett was born Aug. 21, 1918, in Summerall, Miss. He graduated from Hobbs, N.M., High School in 1938, where he broke several state records in track and field events. He attended the University of Texas on an athletic scholarship and was on the shuttle relay team that set the world record in June 1940. The record was not broken until 1958.

Ralph joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1940 and was honor man of his platoon in boot camp. He was shipped to Guam in February 1941 and was captured by the Japanese Dec. 10, 1941. Ralph suffered nearly four years under a cruel enemy as a prisoner of war from the beatings, starvation, forced slave labor and freezing conditions which caused frostbite on his feet. He was liberated Sept. 15, 1945, and arrived in San Diego, Calif., in October of that year.

Ralph married Mary Sibyl Geaslin Dec. 7, 1945, and they had a daughter, Zan, Oct. 21, 1946. Their son, Thomas, was born Aug. 17, 1949.

Mr. Baggett was a design engineer at Bell Helicopter in Hurst and retired in 1979 after 27 years of service. He was an accomplished landscape artist, bronze sculptor and wood carver. His art is in collections in most of the U.S. and in a number of foreign countries.

For his 83rd birthday, the Drake Relays of Des Moines, Iowa, sent him a new Drake Relays watch to replace the one the Japanese had taken from him on Guam. They also invited him to be the Drake Relays grand marshal. At the banquet, Ralph was presented with a watch exactly like the one he had surrendered to the Japanese. He met many dignitaries at the dinner, including the governor of Iowa, and received two standing ovations.

Survivors: Wife, Mary Sibyl Baggett of Granbury; daughter, Zan Baggett; son, Tom Baggett and wife, Debra; granddaughter, Courtney Avery; and great-granddaughter, Bailey Avery, all of Fort Worth.