Surrounded by his family, Ralph E. Dewey, 82, finished his earthly race and entered the presence of his Savior on Thurs., Aug. 29, 2024, after a months-long marathon of health challenges. He had been blessed with many family and friends whose visits at Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic brightened his final weeks. The longtime history teacher, athletic coach, administrator, mentor, and storyteller, has left an indelible impact on his students, players, colleagues, family, and friends.

Ralph was born on Dec. 2, 1941, to the late Ralph and Eleanor (Marriott) Dewey of Geneva. A 1959 graduate of Geneva High School, Ralph played baseball, football, and hockey, and sports became a lifelong delight. After earning a B.S. in Education with a concentration in Social Studies from SUNY Brockport in 1963, Ralph taught high school history at Middlesex Valley Central School for the next three years. He also coached the boy’s varsity basketball team to back-to-back Section V Class C championships during the 1964-65 and 1965-66 seasons and would repeat that feat some 35 years later in Class D as head varsity coach for the Lima Christian Saints.

In August 1966, Ralph enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving primarily at bases in Arlington Hall, VA; and Udorn, Thailand during the Vietnam Conflict, coordinating soldiers’ sports and recreation among other duties. After his honorable discharge as a staff sergeant in 1970, he returned to the newly formed Marcus Whitman Central School, where he was reassigned to junior high history. On the first day of teacher in-service training, he met Shirley Ann Brasted, the junior high science teacher. They were married May 1, 1971.

Ralph earned his permanent teacher certification that year at Brockport, completed masters courses in education, and began courses in administration.  As he and Shirley raised their four children together, he continued teaching high school history at Whitman for a total of 20 years. Coaching student-athletes on the fundamentals was a major part of Ralph’s career, and he invested many years as Whitman’s modified baseball coach, assistant basketball coach, assistant and head varsity football coach, and serving as the district’s athletic director from 1978-86.

IIn 1986, he became director at LeTourneau Christian Conference Center in Rushville. Ralph led a staff of eight full-time adults, plus seasonal teens and college students, hosting year-round ministry retreats and camps, so guests could encounter Jesus and deepen their personal relationship with Him. When a March 1996 fire destroyed the family home and Dining Hall, Ralph led the team through a resourceful summer of service amid construction before he returned to a second teaching career, at Lima Christian School.

Ralph welcomed the opportunity to infuse faith into his teaching, encouraging students how to grow in the character of Christ. In addition to teaching 9th–11th-grade U.S. History and Global Studies at LCS, he also taught credit-bearing AP history courses through Genesee Community College. His crossword puzzle homework assignments were familiar favorites to his students.

He again served as a boy’s basketball coach, first on the LCS JV team, then varsity. Some 35 years after his first Section V titles at Marcus Whitman, he coached the Lima Christian Saints boys basketball team to back-to-back Section V championship titles in Class D over the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons. In 2000, Ralph was named Section V Class D Coach of the Year.

Ralph’s time at LCS included servant leadership roles as athletic director, assistant principal and, in 2004, principal. Ralph enjoyed his LCS students so much that, after retiring as principal in 2009, he returned again to teach history part-time at LCS for the next five years and also served as assistant basketball coach to two of his former players.

In August 2014, he returned to LeTourneau to serve as interim director until February 2015, and remained on the LeTourneau board of directors through 2023.

Ralph was a longtime member at Middlesex Baptist Church, serving as a Sunday School teacher and deacon, and prior to his LCS tenure, a parent member of the LCS School Board. While principal for LCS and after retirement, he was a member at Crossroads (formerly Lima Baptist) Church. As a military veteran and history teacher with a loyalty to the U.S. Constitution and founding fathers, Ralph enthusiastically served as an elections inspector for Ontario County.

Ralph will be remembered as a humble servant-leader, mentor, and storyteller, who loved his Lord and Savior, his family, word search puzzles (especially those created by his grandson, Grant), NFL Football, college basketball, and following the sports and extra-curricular pursuits of his grandchildren, great-nieces, and nephews. A passionate fan of Pontillo’s Pizza and Diet Coke, Ralph was also fond of Cinnamon Mentos gum, Moe’s Southwest, and orange popsicles.

Ralph is survived by his wife of 53 years, Shirley; his daughters Rachel, Debbie (Dave) Eckert, and Terri; his son Nathan (Emily) Dewey; grandchildren Skylar, Lily and Grant Eckert, and Kendall, Caiden, Reagan and Levi Dewey; brothers-in-law, Martin (Evelyn) Brasted and Lee (Martha) Brasted; sisters-in-law, Lucile (Fran) Clancy, Ellie (Dick) Bossard, and Ellen (Jon) Horton; and numerous Brasted clan nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

He was predeceased by his parents, Ralph and Eleanor Dewey, his aunt and uncle, Geraldine and George Dewey, his nephew Chad Clancy, and his niece Diane Brasted Kempf.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4: 7-8 (NIV)