Obituary: Helen Frances Ralph, 96, of Wilton

Information and Photo Courtesy Boughton Funeral Home.

WILTON, CT — Helen Frances Ralph, 96, a Wilton resident since 1964, died on Tuesday, January 1.

Helen was born in St. Louis, Missouri on March 20, 1922, the youngest of John Tobias Lembeck and Magdalena Moorman Lembeck's seven children. She attended Saint Elizabeth's Academy with an academic scholarship.

She met her husband, Howard, at the St. Louis Zoo, Easter Sunday 1942. Howard had told a friend he was going to meet his future wife that day. He walked her home and they were married April 28, 1945, after he completed military duty during WWII.

In 1962, the family moved to Connecticut. Helen began her banking career in October 1972 as a teller in the Wilton branch of the Norwalk Savings Society. Upon retirement in 1987, she was Assistant Treasurer and Branch Manager – a unique fifteen year rise, at that time, for a mother of six.

After retirement, she volunteered at Our Lady of Fatima Church charity Christmas Bazaar. She was a member of the Wilton Senior Center and volunteered time with the Wilton Garden Club along with many other Wilton volunteer organizations.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard A. Ralph; her sons, Joseph and Stephen Ralph; and her granddaughter, Christine Ralph. Helen is survived by her son, James Ralph of Wilton; and three daughters, Margaret Nicastro and her husband Thomas of Virginia; Kathy Conlin and her husband Scott of Norwalk; Debra Birkins and her husband John of Roxbury; and daughter-in-law, Gayle Ralph of Redding. She is also survived by her twelve grandchildren; eight great grandchildren; and in St. Louis a sister-in-law, Lois Ralph, as well as many nieces and nephews who remember her fondly.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, January 8 at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Church, 229 Danbury Road, Wilton. Memorial donations may be made to Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters, 1900 W. Park Drive, Huntington, IN 46750-8957. To offer online condolences to her family please visit www.boutonfuneralhome.com