Ralph E. Jumbeck

I have been Ralph's "mail lady" since he moved to Greenvale in Cambridge. I have been off work recovering from surgery since September and was devastated to find his obituary in the paper this morning. He was a delightful man who I considered a friend. We chatted about many things over the years. Most often about art. He shared some of his creations with me. I enjoyed his company. One of the oddest things is that one day when I was in his apartment and he was frying a couple of sunnyside-up eggs, I asked how he got them so perfect. I told him afterward that I had taken his advice and that my husband asked when I learned to make "restaurant" eggs. We had a chuckle over that. But, I told him I would think of him every time I made an egg---as I did this morning, just before picking up the paper. Having known Ralph and spending those couple of minutes a day are one of the pleasures of my job. What a lucky family to have such a fine gentleman in your lives. God Bless. Mary Johnson

I have so many memories of Ralph and they all make me smile. I first got to know him so many years ago (1991? maybe)when he and his then wife had a B&B I think in WI. and a group of mutual friends went up and stayed at his B&B. That started a long friendship, but somewhere in there we lost touch sometime after 2008, not sure when exactly. There was a fundraiser for him for medical bill support and it was held at a now closed restaurant in Chicago. I have pieces of his artwork, some I bought and some he gifted to me. He was a lovely man and I am saddened he transitioned. What led me to this obit was cleaning up my email and seeing one of his pictures I was sure to save. I wondered how he might be and looked online and found this obit. Peace to you my old friend. ooxx, Mary