Ralph Vernison Morand took his final flight on November 30, 2018, just shy of his 99th birthday. Ralph was born on December 16, 1919, in Topeka, Kansas, to Eugenia A Morand and was soon adopted by his great aunt and uncle, John and Clara Morand.
In junior high, he bought his first airplane ride for $2 in a World War I bomber from a passing barnstormer. He was hooked. Ralph was accepted to a civilian pilot training program with the agreement he would join the military when needed. He entered the Army Air Corps in 1942, becoming a P-38 pilot in the 429th Fighter Squadron stationed in England. There he flew combat missions over France and cover over the invasion fleet in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Later, Ralph worked in security for the Atomic Energy Commission in New Mexico. Next, he tried out the chicken business in Riverside, California, eventually buying the ranch of 350,000 chickens and working in the poultry business for 25 years. He ended his career in Townsend, Montana, where he built an egg processing operation and feed mill.
Ralph was a real fighter, overcoming numerous setbacks. Three times he started over from scratch when the government forced him to kill all his chickens due to disease. He nearly cut off his hand in a table saw, fell from a ladder at 14 feet shattering his ankle, and survived two heart attacks. He lost two sons and a grandson and outlived nearly all his friends.
Ralph was known for his love of traveling, attending WWII pilot reunions, fishing and boating with family and visitors, and maintaining his beautiful lake home. Right to the end, Ralph continued pestering wife Marcia to hit the road again, always ready for adventure.
He is survived by wife Marcia Morand; children Jeanne (Hardy) Edmonson, Tracy (Jo) Morand, Robin (Dana) Williams, and Kelley Morand; and many grand- children, great-grandchildren and great-great grand-children.
