Ralph Benjamin Whisnant

A true Tarheel, Ralph was born on August 19th, 1941 in Morganton to Benjamin Harrison Whisnant and Bertha Fortenberry Whisnant. He grew up in a rural community outside Lenoir and graduated from Hudson High School in 1959. Ralph enrolled in UNC Chapel Hill and graduated with a BS in Chemistry in 1963. He completed the coursework for a master’s in chemistry but did not enjoy labwork, so he departed Chapel Hill to work for the FDA in Maryland.

In 1968, work brought Ralph to Greenville, SC, where he met the love of his life, Cheryl Campbell. After a whirlwind courtship, they married in the fall of 1969. Ralph’s jobs took them to New Jersey and Tennessee, before settling again in Greenville for the next thirty years. Work was primarily in water treatment, cleaning up the water of many of the textile plants and factories of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. After retiring, Ralph and Cheryl moved to Raleigh, NC.

Nature, especially organic gardening, was Ralph’s great passion, and his goal was to convert everyone he met into a gardener. He enjoyed propagating plants and sharing them with friends and family. In retirement he was able to devote more time to his passion, spending many hours in his greenhouse and volunteering at JC Raulston Arboretum. Yards all around Roylene Acres, his Raleigh neighborhood, are dotted with plants from Ralph. He loved his neighbors and new friends he made during his retirement, celebrating new babies, new jobs, and all around enjoying life.

Ralph was a loving girl-dad to his daughters Heather and Alicia. He was blessed with two phenomenal sons-in-law, Jeffrey Cross and Josh Wyatt. He delighted in his role as Papa Ralph to grandchildren Teddy, Zachary, Lexi, Mille, Lydia, and Archer. The oldest of four, Ralph is survived by brothers Miller (Pat) of Laurel, MD; Melvin (Scottie) of Hudson, NC; and baby sister Wanda (Greg) Horne of Shelby, NC. Their parents encouraged them to develop a close relationship and succeeded, even during basketball season when the siblings’ UNC-NCSU rivalry was in full force. There are also many beloved nieces, nephews and cousins who still walk upon the earth.

Also surviving are longtime friends Don and Ginny Kendall of Charlotte. Many strong friendships were made more recently in Raleigh, especially with Ralph’s good friend Doug Jesse.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 4th at 11:30 AM at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 200 SE Maynard Rd, Cary, NC 27511. Visitation to follow the service. A celebration of life will follow at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ralph's memory to one of his favorite projects, the children’s program fund at the JC Raulston Arboretum. A check can be made payable to the NC Agricultural Foundation and mailed to the JC Raulston Arboretum, Campus Box 7522, Raleigh, NC 27695 (Check Memo: JCRA Ralph Whisnant Memorial) or online at http://go.ncsu.edu/jcrachildrensprogram.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.BrownWynneCary.com for the Whisnant family.