Ralph Fretty

1930 - 2025

Ralph Fretty

December 22, 1930 - August 21, 2025

Lexington, Kentucky - Ralph Edgar Fretty-beloved husband, father, brother-in-law, uncle, grandfather, and great grandfather-passed peacefully from this life on August 21, 2025. Born to Raymond and Martha Fretty in Des Moines, Iowa, Ralph entered this world in the midst of the Great Depression, which forged a life-long appreciation for the simpler things of life: faith, family, friends and neighbors, as well as kindness and decency toward all. His insatiable quest for knowledge led him to the University of Iowa (UI), where he enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program and earned a B.S. degree with honors in economics. While at UI, he also studied Chinese in preparation for deployment to the Far East. Days after his 1953 graduation, Ralph reported to Camp Kilmer, NJ, then to Westover AFB, MA, from where he was flown to a small desert intelligence encampment near Wheelus AFB, Libya. He subsequently volunteered for an assignment in Munich, Germany, then traveled to West Ruislip AFB and to Sculthorpe AFB, England, from which he managed the USAF's vast postal operation in that country. Seeking to meet nice, eligible English girls, he took a friend's suggestion to visit the Locarno Dance Hall in Streatham, England. There, he encountered his future wife, Anne, an elementary school teacher, whom he married in 1955 after a whirlwind courtship. The couple returned to Des Moines in 1956 to help with the family coffee business and for Ralph to earn his Master's degree at Drake University. With a new child in tow, Ralph and Anne then moved to Boston, where Ralph earned a Doctorate degree in political science from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Their two younger children were born in Northfield, Minnesota, where Ralph taught at St. Olaf College. Four years later, now a Fulbright scholar, Ralph moved his family to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to study the island-country's exports. He later taught at Washington State University before relocating the family to Richmond, Kentucky, where he taught political science for many years at Eastern Kentucky University and worked behind the scenes to improve the town's public schools and its community service offerings. In his retirement in Lexington, Kentucky, he, alongside Anne, spent many joyful days traveling domestically and abroad, working on home and garden projects-including designing a sunroom for birdwatching-and serving in various capacities at St. Hubert's Episcopal Church. It is a testament to Ralph's upbringing and faith that he never met a stranger he didn't like. Indeed, he often scanned the room for the friendless and the lonely, drawing them easily into conversation and companionship.

Ralph was predeceased by his wife and closest friend of 69 years, Anne, who died in 2023. He is survived by his children Martin, Sarah (Matt), and Ellen (Mike); grandchildren Tess (Michael), Peter, Jack (Sadie), Henry, Roxanne (Rob), and Rachel; great grandson Emmett and great granddaughters Thea and Annie; brother-in-law Andrew (Gill); much-loved nieces and nephews; and caring neighbors and congregants. A private graveside service will be held for family members at St. Hubert's Episcopal Church, to which donations in Ralph's memory may be made or to a humane society of one's choosing.