Ralph C. Carmichael

December 6, 1923 - May 18, 2016

Ralph C. Carmichael, age 92, passed away on May 18, 2016 at The Willows in Bellingham. He was born December 6, 1923 in South Holland, Illinois, to Virgil and Agnes (Rinkema) Carmichael. While serving in the U.S. Army during WWII, Ralph landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France on D-Day and served in combat until he was wounded near Aachen, Germany. Ralph married his wife Jeanne on June 24, 1947 and was her loving husband for 57 years until she passed in 2004. Ralph and Jeanne moved from Illinois to Southern California and raised their two children in the San Fernando Valley. For nearly 30 years Ralph was employed in the aerospace industry and worked on Apollo space flight missions. Ralph and Jeanne moved to Bellingham in 1988. He taught computer classes at the Bellingham Senior Center for over 10 years. Ralph enjoyed fishing, dancing, playing cards, shooting pool and watching baseball. He was a real people-person and thrived on spending time with his friends and family. His survivors include his son Robert Carmichael and wife Janice of Bellingham; daughter Judith Dyer and husband John of Everett, grandchildren Peter, Charlie, Jason, Joshua and Janelle, great-grandchildren Camila and Andrew, older brother Roy, close friend Helen Lesiuk and many loving relatives and friends. A service of remembrance with military honors will be held at Westford Funeral Home at 1 PM on Wednesday, May 25th. Reception following. Memorials may be made to the Bellingham Senior Center.