Ralph A. Bellas Jr. Obituary (1953

Ralph A. Bellas, Jr. March 9, 1953 – December 3, 2024 STANFORD— Ralph A Bellas Jr., of rural Stanford, passed away peacefully at his home on December 3rd, 2024. Ralph was born March 9, 1953, in Lancaster, PA, the son of Ralph A. Sr. and Louise C. Bellas. He married Connie Hirst on August 14, 1976, in Jerseyville, IL. She survives. Ralph is survived by three sons, Eric (Angie) Bellas, Bloomington and their children Logan, Lainey, and Nora; Adam (Katie) Bellas, rural Stanford and their children Ryland and Kinley; Justin (Cassie) Bellas, rural Stanford and their children Wyatt and Carter. He is also survived by sister Christine (Quinn Loucks) and their daughter Maiya (Casey Madayag) of Washington state; sister Marcia (Rick West) of Vermont and children Nate and Ryan of Bloomington, IL; brother Greg (Kirsten Setterholm) of California; sister Kim (Benoit Nault) of Arizona, brother Laurence (Susan) of Colorado, sister-in-law Glenda Patredis (John) of Texas, and brother-in-law Allan (Missy) of Colorado. Ralph discovered amateur radio while in high school and quickly became enthralled with learning geography and electronics. He graduated from U-High in January 1971, moved to London and fell in with a group of young British radio amateurs who combined their love of the outdoors with radio competitions. Almost every weekend was spent with some kind of radio event in England, Wales, Scotland, or Belgium. He began studies at Illinois State University in 1972 and graduated with a degree in geography specializing in cartography in 1976. He continued in the Master’s program teaching earth science, and earned an MS in geography combining a love for international topics, technology, geographic information systems, and science. Jobs in 2-way radio, audio, the emerging super mini-computer service field, and marketing research followed. He married Connie who taught in the Olympia school district and they raised three sons in Bloomington. He was particularly proud of how well his sons have done in businesses and management, the things they accomplished, and how well they have raised their children. After taking foundation graduate courses in business, Ralph completed his MBA in 1989. He became Assistant Director of the MBA program and Coordinator of the Computer Labs in the College of Business, and with a team brought the internet to the College. He taught marketing as an adjunct faculty member for many years. In 1997 he joined the systems department at State Farm, providing technical support to law offices, facilitated system architecture reviews, progressed to technical architecture, became a System Designer for large and complex computer systems, excelled as a Project Coordinator, and coached in project methodology. He completed a Master of Science degree in computer science in 2001. He participated in international ham radio competitions and was a team leader for the 2000 World Radio Team Competition in Slovenia and was a referee in the 2002 competition in Helsinki, Finland. He joined teams for expeditions to Mexico, the Galapagos, Venezuela, South Cook Islands, Belize, Columbia, New Zealand, the Kermadec Islands, Nicaragua, South Orkney Islands, and Wake Island. Ralph was known in the amateur radio circles by his call sign, K9ZO, and could travel anywhere in the world and meet guys who he had talked to on the radio. He made radio contact with all countries in the world and placed in many radio competitions. He was a master of high speed Morse code. Ralph and Connie moved from Bloomington to rural Stanford in 2016; then he retired. He loved having the grandkids visit, and enjoyed many family gatherings. He constructed his ham radio station, a lifelong dream, and enjoyed a number of seasons of listening for weak radio signals from the other side of the world. When cancer was discovered in 2017, Connie became his supporter and chief caretaker. Ralph wished to thank Dr. Gomez and staff of Illinois Cancer Care, and Dr. Holschbach and staff, for their outstanding care. In honoring his wishes, there will be no funeral or visitation. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Memorials can be made to the Allin Township Fire Protection District, PO Box 47, Stanford, IL 61774. Please view the obituary and share your condolences and memories online at www.beckmemorial.com For more information his amateur radio friends might enjoy viewing https://www.qrz.com/db/K9ZO