Ralph E. Pyle Jr.

Ralph E. Pyle, Jr., 75, passed away at home in Austin Texas on Sunday morning, December 10, 2006. Ralph was born in Geyer Springs Arkansas in 1931, the son of Ralph Sr. and Mary Griffis Pyle. Preceding him in death were his parents, his sister Patricia Pyle Burton, his brother John H. Pyle, and his niece Jeanne Noe. Ralph graduated from Little Rock Junior College, now known as University of Arkansas, Little Rock and quickly enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1948. Over the next 30 years he advanced from Airman up through the ranks to his retirement as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1979. During his career he and his family lived in as many as 8 foreign countries and 12 different states. Ralph served two tours in Korea during the Korean Conflict. Following his service to our country, Ralph worked for 12 years for Hertz Corporation and served as their Director of Communications, retiring again in 1992. During this time, in 1982, he and his wife Martha took off work for a year to serve as Southern Baptist International Mission Board volunteers serving on a mission farm and conference center in Israel. Ralph jokingly liked to call himself an "ordained orange plucker". In 1992 Ralph and Martha moved to Austin where he worked for the State Controller Office and the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (DPRS) as Director of Communications. While with the DPRS he was instrumental in establishing the new Statewide Abuse Hotline system. Ralph was active in the Military Officers of America Association and the Promise Singers of Great Hills Baptist Church. He is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Martha Osborn Pyle, and their sons, Robert Pyle, and Lieutenant Commander Raymond Pyle and his wife, Lani, and their sons, Trystan, Devin, and Erik, and by his beloved Westhighland Terrier Tico. Visitation will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12th at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home. Graveside services for the family will be held at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on Wednesday morning, followed by Memorial services for family and friends at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 13th at Great Hills Baptist Church at 10500 Jolleyville Road, Austin Texas 78759. Obituary and guestbook online at wcfish.com