Ralph Afton Geddie's Obituary
Ralph Afton Geddie was born September 13, 1922 in Grand Saline, Texas and passed away September 17, 2017 in Nacogdoches, Texas. Ralph was preceded in death by his loving wife of over 71 years, Lois. He was also preceded in death by his parents, Bonner and Mary (Stough) Geddie; brothers, Gaino Geddie and Buford Geddie. He is survived by daughter Deborah Smith-Haynes and husband, Benny; son Dennis Geddie and wife, Janet; daughter, De Berube and husband, Budd; 6 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Bonner Floyd Geddie. Ralph leaves behind a loving family filled with nieces and nephews and cousins.After graduating from Van High School in 1941, Ralph was awarded a football scholarship to Texas Technological College. However, his education was interrupted by World War II during which he served proudly in the U S Marine Corp in the Pacific. After he returned to the states and while he was on his way home for leave, he met a pretty red-head on a troop train. A couple of weeks later, she became his loving wife, Lois. After completing his tour of duty with the Marines, Ralph and Lois returned to Lubbock where he once again was playing football for the Red Raiders as he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Geology. With so many returning soldiers in the job market, Ralph and Lois decided to make having a home and family as their first priority. Ralph was determined to provide for his wife and future children so he took a job selling photographs for a traveling photography company. After several years, Ralph and Lois opened up their own studio, Kinder-Kraft Photography, and later, Geddie’s Photography. During his photography career, Ralph learned everything he could about photography. Along with those skills and his natural sales sense, he grew his studio and his client base for over 50 years. He was honored with numerous awards from his peers in the professional photography industry during his career.Ralph was very active in the community with the Southeast Dallas YMCA, the Southeast Dallas Chamber of Commerce and the Pleasant Grove Kiwanis Club. He served on the City Planning Commission for the City of Dallas from 1972 to 1977. He was a charter member of the Dallas Professional Photographers Assn. He served on the boards of Trinity Savings and Loan, Commercial National Bank and East Town Hospital.He not only practiced his faith, he lived by example. He was a longtime member of Pleasant Mound United Methodist Church and more recently, Redeemer Bible Church.A memorial service will be held 2:30 pm, Saturday, September 23, 2017 at Restland Memorial Chapel.Honorary pall bearers are John Grigsby, James Grigsby, Budd Berube, Gunnar Geddie, Sophie Geddie, Spencer Bradley, Brian Smith, Chris Scharrer, and Jerry Jetton.In lieu of flowers, the family request any memorial be made to Redeemer Bible Church in Dallas, Legacy Hospice in Nacogdoches or to the charity of your choice.
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