Obituary of Ralph Arthur von Melville

Ralph Arthur von Melville passed away on November 24, 2024, in Cranbrook, BC, after a short illness. He was 90 years old.

Ralph was born in Riga, Latvia in August 1934. He is survived by his partner of 23 years, Doris Henniger, and his two children Brent von Melville and Kim Woods (David) as well as five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter; Alexander, Jonte, Sam, Blake, Luke and Robbi-Rose. And will be missed by Doris’ family Elke (Ronald) and Heike (Steffen).

He is survived by younger brother, Percy, and predeceased by his older brothers, Hans, Robert (Bob) and Axel.

Ralph, a Baltic German and members of his family spent more than a year in the Tyrolean Alps in the face of the Russian advance into Eastern Germany during World War II. He and brother Axel, four years his senior but with whom he was very close, returned in the late 1940s to finish high school in the town of Plettenberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia.

At the age of 18 Ralph followed his family to Canada, as part of a group of Baltic Germans sponsored by the Lutheran Church. Ralph arrived in Quebec City in September, spending his initial months in Ontario.

In 1953 he joined his parents and brothers in West Victoria, then starting his first job at British Columbia Forest Products, working in various capacities alongside brothers Bob and Axel.
And while his brothers moved onto other business pursuits, Ralph continued to advance his career in the pulp and paper sector, initially on Vancouver Island but then further afield, in the Kootenays, Portugal, Germany, Argentina and Swaziland.

He finalized his career at Skeena Cellulose in Prince Rupert, ahead of the mill’s closure in 1997.
In 1962, he met Evelyn Russell in Campbell River. The two were married in October of that year, going on to have two children, Brent, in 1963 and Kim, in 1966.
Despite their travels, generally extending across multi-year contracts, he and Axel continued their connection via amateur radio and shortwave – a handy tool particularly during the 1982 Falklands war, when Ralph and his family found themselves in Misiones province, Argentina, with little in the way of reliable communications.

Ralph’s passion was photography, shared with his brother Axel. Together they produced many memorable pictures of nature, family, travel, and togetherness, with Ralph going as far as setting up his own darkroom in the basement of the family home in Cranbrook, prior to the advent of digital cameras.
Ralph had a keen ear for music, was fond of playing a keyboard and piano and would pick up the accordion when the mood took. He was adept at most things he put a hand to, including carpentry and also enjoyed camping and skiing with his family.

In his later years, he loved exploring the Kootenays and other parts of BC with his beloved Doris and their cameras, and lunch, in tow.

At 90 years of age, Ralph was the same age as his brother Axel, who passed in 2020. Then, Ralph wrote that he must keep his spirit alive, wherever its existence, and that they "may yet meet again". We are quite sure the two are off on their next grand adventure.