Ralph Frank Rampellini

Ralph Rampellini was a master horseman.

He spent his youth competing in dressage and show jumping and later served as a judge in those disciplines. Ralph eventually made the move to training Thoroughbred racehorses and in the late 1970s, he was offered a position by Nelson Bunker Hunt.

It brought Ralph to North Texas, where each year he would teach a crop of about 100 young horses how to become racehorses. Following their lessons on the Circle T Ranch in Roanoke, they were shipped to racetracks worldwide. A handful of Ralph’s graduates competed in the Kentucky Derby.

At the same time, this position brought Ralph and his wife, Patricia, to the parish community of St. Francis of Assisi. It would be where he would learn to become something of a master Catholic.

Ralph’s faith life grew under the tutelage of Fr. Baltasar Szarka. Ralph continued to embrace his Catholic faith through the direction of the many priests who have served at St. Francis.

Ralph was a Eucharistic Minister and a Reader. He visited the sick, checked on those who lost spouses, kept in contact with his extended family and studied the writings of St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict and Bishop Fulton Sheen. Later in life, he was a regular at daily Mass.

Ralph was born in Hartford, Conn., on Oct. 5, 1944. He worked in his father’s restaurants as a young man and played the drums while serving in the U.S. Army.

Rampellini married Patricia Reidy of East Hartford, Conn., on Oct. 24, 1968. The couple’s children are Mary Elizabeth, Anna Maria, Ralph Ezio Joseph, and Christina Maria Elena.

We, the Rampellini Family, are heartbroken by the loss of a man who served God and his family with joyful fervor, lovingly tending to every need of his wife and children. We are grateful for his example of faith and it comforts us now as we trust a new life in the Kingdom is just beginning for the head of our household.

We want to express our profound gratitude to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and Fr. Sojan George for guiding and supporting us through this difficult time. We also are appreciative of Fr. Mel Bessellieu, the various ministries within St. Francis, our fellow parishioners, our relatives, neighbors, the staff of Lucas Funeral Home – all of whom have gone out of their way to look after us. Each one of you is an incredible gift from God.

And, it is to Him we offer praise and thanksgiving for the gift of Ralph Frank Rampellini.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me on that day; and not to me only, but to them also who love his coming. Make haste to come to me quickly.” -2 Timothy, Ch. 4, Vs. 7-8