Ralph O. Elvik

Ralph was born May 13, 1924, in Carthage, South Dakota. His parents John and Anna Elvik were Norwegian immigrants. He grew up on the family farm and graduated from Carthage High School. Ralph enlisted at age 17 and proudly served as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII, where he was stationed at a remote island airbase in the South Pacific Theater. Ralph married Constance Dilly in 1948 and moved to Sioux City, where Ralph built the first of two homes for his growing family. In 1956, Ralph moved the family to southern California, where they resided in Lakewood, Anaheim and Laguna Niguel. A graduate of California State University, Long Beach, Ralph was a distinguished electrical engineer with a career of 38 years at Beckman Instruments in Fullerton, California. Upon retiring, he and Constance moved to Nevada, building their retirement dream home in the Jacks Valley area, near Carson City, where they lived for 17 years.
Ralph was an avid skier and had a lifelong interest in politics for both local and national. His interest in politics grew upon moving to Nevada where he was involved in many local issues to preserve the rural nature of the Carson Valley. He was a loving husband and father, possessed an incredible work ethic, a keen intellect and an appreciation for culture, the arts and world travel. He was a tireless volunteer for service projects and fund-raising in the Carson Valley and gave generously, especially of his time and energy to the community he came to love. Ralph was respected and admired as a good-citizen neighbor and truly valued as a community asset by those who came to know him. He especially loved spending time with his family, and took great joy in his grandchildren.

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