Ralph Winston Pearson

A great family patriarch passed away on November 19, 2015 from natural causes. Ralph Winston Pearson was born July 31, 1925 in Springfield, Missouri to Leonard Braines Pearson and Jane Anne Browning Pearson. He was preceded in death by both parents, five of his seven siblings, (David, Leonard Jr., Betty Ann, Margaret, Owen), two of his seven children (Brad Holman Pearson, and Marcia Bradley), and his eternal companion, Betty Jean Holman Pearson. Ralph is survived by brother Wayne (Velda) Pearson, sister Virginia Richards, and children Ruth Ann (Fred) Lieber, Craig (Connie) Pearson, Kent (ML) Pearson, Steve (Kathleen) Pearson, and Lynette (Rustin) Tolbert.

Ralph loved God. He carried with him throughout his life a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His devoted service for all of his 90 years was an outward expression of his deeply-held inner convictions. His great loves included genealogical research and temple work. Through this work, Ralph and Betty served as a bridge between their posterity and centuries of ancestors.

Ralph’s love of country was demonstrated through his participation in ROTC as a teenager, his 1948 West Point Graduation, and his years of service in the Seventh Infantry Division of the Army, including the occupation of Japan and the Korean War.

What will remain through the generations is Ralph’s love of family. He married his high school sweetheart, Betty Jean Holman, on August 6, 1948 in the Logan Temple. As the needs of his family increased, he exchanged his Regular Army commission for a reserve commission so he could obtain his law degree from the University Of Utah College Of Law. He considered providing for his family a privilege. In addition to his service in the reserves, from which he retired at the rank of Colonel in 1985 after 42 years of service, he worked as Chief Counsel for Beneficial Life until his retirement in 1990. Ralph considered his 60-year marriage to Betty his greatest blessing, and his close relationships with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren his life’s greatest joy. Ralph will be remembered for doing his daily calisthenics, his endless hours playing on the “ditch bank”, and the game “No Bears Are Out Tonight” well into his 80s. The family and all who knew him will miss his dignity, his love and his selflessness. Ralph was one of the world’s truest gentlemen and finest gentle man.

A viewing will be held on Tuesday November 24, from 6-8 p.m. at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary, 3401 Highland Drive. Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. at the Sunridge Ward LDS on Wednesday November 25, Chapel 1850 E. 8600 South, viewing 10-11 a.m. prior to the funeral.

His family would like to express sincere appreciation for the loving care given to their father by Sunrise Retirement Center and Brighton Hospice.