Ralph E. Pingleton's Obituary
Ralph Pingleton was called to his eternal Home on Sunday, October 16th 2011, at the age of 62. He resided at the VA Nursing Center in Claremore, OK. For almost the last ten years, he struggled with Pick’s disease, a Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), which is a rare neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive destruction of nerve cells in the brain. During this time, it affected his behavior, memory, personality, speech, and motor skills. It was from complications of this disease that took his life. Ralph was born in Wagoner, OK on August 6th 1949 and raised in Muskogee, OK where he also graduated high school. He was very devoted to his family and his job. His hobbies were fishing, golf, and officiating football and baseball, many times with friends and family. He had a strong passion for giving blood, and even received a top honor from the American Red Cross for the many liters of blood he donated. He enjoyed telling jokes and playing pranks, essentially doing things that would provoke fun and laughter with those around him. He served in the US Army, both as active duty and as a reservist. He was stationed in Korea during the Vietnam War. His decorations include The National Defense Service Medal, the Marksmanship Badge for M-16 and M-14, and The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Ralph is survived by his wife Kathy Pingleton, three sons, Shawn Pingleton, Brian Pingleton and wife Misty, and Dustin Pingleton and wife Beth, his mother, Bonnie Pingleton, two sisters, Lana Price and husband Keith, and Brenda Barlow, one brother, David Pingleton, and 10 grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his father, Marvin Pingleton, and one granddaughter, Madison Pingleton. Funeral services will be held at 10am on Thursday, October 20th 2011, at Floral Haven Chapel, 6500 S. 129th E. Ave, Broken Arrow, OK, immediately followed by a reception at the Floral Haven Family Center. The visitation is Wednesday, October 19th 2011, at Floral Haven, 11:00am to 9:00pm. In lieu of flowers, and for anyone interested in making a donation in honor of Ralph, please consider The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration for supporting research, which can be found at this link: http://www.theaftd.org/about/get-involved/donate, as there is very little still known about it. Ralph would also highly encourage everyone to donate blood as well.
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