Ralph Alan Schlegel

Born August 5, 1930 – Died May 1, 2025
Ralph Alan Schlegel passed away peacefully in Orange Park, Florida, on May 1, 2025, at the age of 94. He will be dearly missed by his daughter, Vickie, and son-in-law, Rafael Ramirez, along with all those who were lucky enough to know him.
Ralph was born in New Jersey and grew up in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, with his parents, Henry and Martha, and siblings Bob, Don, and Jean. A natural artist from an early age, he contributed illustrations to the family's handmade newspaper, The Schlegel Weekly News. After serving in the U.S. Army as a mapmaker and being honorably discharged in 1952, Ralph pursued his passion for art at the Philadelphia College of Art.
He met his beloved wife of 55 years, Sharon, while working as an artist at the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. They married in 1966 and eventually settled in Yardley, Pennsylvania, where they lived together for over four decades, before moving to Saint Augustine, Florida in 2015.
Ralph had a long and fulfilling career as a commercial artist and freelance illustrator. His work appeared on the cover of Newsweek and the U.S. News and World Report magazine, as well as in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Magazine, Business Week, and various Smithsonian publications. He was the Sunday political cartoonist for The Trenton Times from 1981 to 2011, and was deeply honored when the Lawrence Library in New Jersey hosted a retrospective of his work in 2013.
For Ralph, drawing was far more than a profession-it was a way of engaging with the world. He was rarely without a pen and notebook filled with whimsical doodles. His clever, handmade pop-up cards brought joy on birthdays and holidays. He was a lover of jazz and bebop, a devoted public radio listener, and an ever-hopeful fan of the Eagles and the Phillies. A self-taught learner with a remarkable memory, Ralph was a pen-only crossword solver and could answer almost any question about geography or the American presidents.
Ralph was a man of integrity, quiet humor, and curiosity. He was hard-working and perceptive, open-minded and unassuming. Even in his later years, he remained engaged and receptive to new ideas. He saw the absurdities of life with clarity and met them with his characteristic sly wit. Above all, he was kind. To know Ralph was to love him.
A private family service will be held at the Ewing Cemetery Association in Ewing, NJ.
If you would have sent flowers or traveled to attend a service, the family asks that you consider honoring Ralph's memory with a donation to the YoungArts Foundation, which supports young artists aged 15 to 18: https://youngarts.org/donate/ (Use the "tribute gift" option at the bottom of the page.) To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Ralph, please visit our Tree Store.