Ralph Schoof - 1925-2019

Ralph Schoof was born February 15, 1925, in Hebron, Nebraska, the third child of Karl and Lora Schoof. As the Roaring '20s turned into the Great Depression, farms in Nebraska turned to dust. After finishing up parochial school at the age of 13, Ralph was out working full time.

In 1939, the family bought a new Ford for $895, packed up everything they owned and headed for Oregon. At the time, Ralph wondered how “75 horses” could possibly fit under the hood. In 1940, the entire family went to work at the Wells-Lamont glove factory in Carlton, Oregon. The family of four brought home $65 a week, all of which was needed to meet family needs. Later that year, they bought a two-bedroom house north of McMinnville on five acres for $1,500 cash.

Until the outbreak of World War II, when Ralph served in the Navy in the Pacific, he lived with his parents and surrendered all of his income to the family for room and board. Ralph’s first paycheck was his Navy stipend of $23 a month. After many battles in the Pacific, he was honorably discharged with $605 in his pocket, an enormous amount of money to him.

Ralph was preceded in death by all of his siblings, older brother Vernon Schoof, older sister Laverna Gutbrod and younger brother Peter Schoof. He is survived by his wife, Verna Schoof; a son, David Schoof of Palo Alto, California; a daughter, Terri Lanser of Modesto, California; as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Ralph’s father Karl was a founding member of St. John Lutheran Church, where Ralph was a member for 80 years. Ralph was proud of the fact that he was able to retire at the age of 49 to become a gentleman farmer. He was well known as an avid big game hunter and operated a duck hunting club near Carlton for 35 years. He was able to tell hunting and fishing stories all day without embellishment.

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