Ralph Kurt Imhof

Imhof, Ralph Kurt was born 01-27-1927 to Ella & Walter Imhof in St. Louis. He departed this life 02-13-2018 in Springfield MO. He had a younger sister, Nancy Collier who preceded him in death in 2016. Ralph graduated from Cleveland High School & went directly into the army. While in transit to the Philippines to be part of the force intended to invade Japan, the atomic bombs were dropped & Japan surrendered. He was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. Upon his return to St. Louis he enrolled in Harris Teachers College on the GI Bill & became the first member of his family to receive a college degree. His first semester at Harris, he met the love of his life Marilyn Cerf & they were married 06-18-1949 & enjoyed 56 yrs. of marriage until her death in 2005. They had 4 children: Barbara (Barry) Ross, Carolyn Imhof-Hoffelder, Daniel (Ginny) Imhof & Christine (Steve) Kitsch; 10 grandchildren: Jeremy (Brenna) Mann, Katarina (David) Eriksson-Ree, Alex Hoffelder, Nate Hoffelder, Merideth Gennerich, Christopher (Shannon) ImhofClark, Nichole Imhof, Megan Imhof, Matthew Kitsch, Corey Kitsch & 8 great grandchildren: Alena Eriksson-Ree, Isabelle Eriksson-Ree, Una May Eriksson Ree, Esme Eriksson-Ree, Rose Gennerich, Curtis Imhof, Ariana Filosoglou & Hannah ImhofClark who all knew him as Pop or Poppy. Ralph taught briefly in the St. Louis City schools, but found it too difficult to support a growing family on the teacher's pay of the time & accepted a full-time position with his summer employment, beginning an over 30 yr career with the federal government at what was then called the Aeronautical Chart & Information Center (ACIC) & later was renamed the Defense Mapping & Administrative Command (DMAC) & is now known as the Geospatial Intelligent Agency. His job involved making maps & charts for the government & military including those used for the lunar landings, all of which required a very high security clearance & extensive travel within the U.S. & to several allied nations. After their retirement, Ralph & Marilyn moved to Springfield in 1988 where they enjoyed an active retirement. They became members at Campbell UMC & joined several bridge groups. Ralph also enjoyed fishing & poker. His competitive nature was always on display, whether he was playing bridge (at which he was nearby unbeatable), or fishing (where it was not as important how many fish he caught as long as it was more than the others in his party or at the resort he was staying at). Ralph was a very intelligent man with a mischievous sense of humor. He was a great father and grandfather & always put his family first. He made sure his children had the opportunity to go to college & was a substantial support to several of his grandchildren. His family knows how fortunate they were to have him & will miss him greatly. Special thanks to the staff at The Fremont, who's care helped him enjoy the 3 years he lived there. Services: A memorial service will be held at Campbell UMC located at 1747 E. Republic Rd., Springfield MO 65804 on 03-102018 at 1:00 p.m. with Rev. Andy Bryan officiating, with a celebration of life following the service at the church. Final interment of Ralph's and Marilyn's cremated remains will occur at a yet undetermined date at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Campbell UMC at the address listed above.