Donald Ralfs

In the afternoon of January 30th, 2026, Donald Ralfs peacefully passed from this world surrounded by family while under hospice care. He was just two weeks shy of his 92nd birthday.

Don was born to Clarence and Mildred Ralfs in Davenport, Iowa, surrounded by a close-knit extended family. His younger brother Jerry was born two and a half years later, giving him a partner in likely still unknown mischief. Although life took him far from Iowa, Don deeply cherished his childhood on his family's farm and would typically introduce himself as an "old Iowa farm boy." His Iowa years left him with an abiding love of nature and belief in God, whose hand he saw everywhere in the natural world around him.

While Don began his education in a one room schoolhouse, he was a natural leader in his large local high school and at Iowa State, where he made lifelong friends in his fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi. After college and being rejected from the military – too much basketball had ruined his ankles – he was resigned to a job in the local Alcoa office. The silver lining, however, was that Mary Ellen Ringstad was also a recent Alcoa hire. She became his wife two years later and they enjoyed over 60 years of marriage until her passing in 2020.

Although his children often questioned Don's talent for "technical knowledge" after many failed tutorials on modern electronics, Don's grasp of mainframe computer programming earned him recognition and a transfer to Alcoa's Pittsburgh headquarters. This marked the start of a long career in data center management that took Don from Pittsburgh to Minneapolis to Milwaukee, where Don was recognized as an expert in data storage, and he wrote and spoke frequently on the topic. Don was bemused to watch the growing public awareness of data centers and see data storage evolve into its own field of study in recent years.

Between the demands of career and family, Don also made it a priority to give back to his community, from a 30 year streak of blood donations to serving as president of church councils and charitable organizations. He coached youth baseball, rang Salvation Army bells for decades, and most recently, was active in the Elm Grove Kiwanis and the food ministry at St. Matthew's Lutheran church.

With his love of reading, history and connecting with people across cultures, Don deeply enjoyed traveling across Europe, Asia, Israel, and the Americas with Mary Ellen during retirement. Fortunately for Mary Ellen's shopping needs, he could happily be dropped at museums of any type for hours and was fascinated by everything from the construction of the Panama Canal to the trial of Slobodan Milosevic. At home, however, he was perhaps happiest outdoors, planting trees and doing yardwork. Hiring a lawn service was not considered an option, and he proudly maintained his one acre yard unassisted until his late eighties.

Don died as he lived, facing aging with his signature optimism and affability. Despite his health challenges, he always focused outward and had a talent for making people feel that whatever they were saying was the most interesting thing in the world. While he will be terribly missed, we take comfort in his strong faith and the knowledge that he is reunited with our mother.

He is survived by his three children, Scott and Mark (Carrie) Ralfs and Ann Marie (Gregor) Armbruster; grandchildren Matthew and Emma Ralfs and Margot, Niels, and Sander Armbruster; his brother, Jerry (Diane); great nephew, Jerry Jr. (Theresa); and numerous cousins. His wife Mary Ellen predeceased him in 2020.

There will be a funeral service for Don on February 19th, 2026, at St. Matthew's Evangelical Church in Wauwatosa, with visitation starting at 12:30 p.m. and the service commencing at 2 p.m. Should friends desire, memorial contributions to St. Matthew's church or the Bread of Healing ministry would be appreciated.

Special thanks to the staff at Brookdale Crossings, Elaine's Hope and everyone else on "team Don" for the happiness and care they gave Don in his last years.