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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2018)
18 Wednesday, June 27, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Obituary Ralph Romans June 4, 1925 — June 8, 2018 Ralph Romans was born in Fremont, Nebraska, June 4, 1925, to Gladys and Lyman Romans. In his early years, his fam- ily lived a classic Americana lifestyle, a happy child- hood of hauling ice, fish- ing with his dad and grandmother, garnering coal that spilled from railroad cars, hauling water from the pump and growing their own food. Their wardrobes were hand-me-downs or purchased from Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogues. He and his friends met on a corner in Fremont, where his future wife, Dolores Walters, lived. From there, they rode bicycles and went skating. He truly did walk four miles to school, to the delight of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who idolized their grandfather and his stories. He was a hero to his daughters and his descen- dants. He championed all people, and was extremely intolerant of bigotry and racism. In 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He became a Seaman with an education in Morse code and signaling. His first tour was on the USS West Virginia, a ship that had been sunk in Pearl Harbor and was restored. His ship was part of the initial invasion of the Philippines, where they secured beaches for troop landings. They were still on site when General McArthur made his famous “I Shall Return” speech. Their ship was part of another invasion, bombing the shores of Okinawa. They were hit by a Kamikaze pilot, suffering the loss of four sail- ors with only mild damage to the ship. One of their missions was the rescue of 300 sailors, whose aircraft carrier was struck and destroyed by a Kamikaze pilot. They were part of the invasion of Iwo Jima, where, as signalman, Ralph watched through a long glass as the Marines tackled the moun- tain and the enemy. After their return to Okinawa, the war ended. However, action didn’t. The Navy lost a ship to bombing, and several suicide missions were attempted. The Signal Corp developed a secret code to prevent sinking each other’s ships in the Japanese islands. Ralph and his ship were nearby when McArthur accepted the Japanese sur- render. In their Pacific career, they had shot down 13 Japanese fighter planes. He was discharged in 1946, and soon after mar- ried Dolores, his childhood sweetheart. He enrolled in Midland College and worked a variety of jobs. Their daughter, Dianne, was born a year later. Ralph re-enlisted in the Navy in 1950, serv- ing another 20 years. In the Korean conflict, he served as a yeoman in the administra- tive office on the USS Essex out of Bremerton, WA. In Fremont, their second daugh- ter, Cheryl, was born. The family lived in Hawaii in Ralph’s three years of ser- vice with a Four-Star General in charge of all Army, Navy, and Marine forces in the Pacific. He retired as Senior Chief Yeoman in 1967. The couple moved to Sisters in 1968. In his last SISTERS ROUND-UP OF GEMS Friday-Sunday, June 29 - July 1 We have chosen the best of the best to return! 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., p Friday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday Creekside Park Pa | 504 S. Locust St. Sisters, Oregon Sis FREE ADMISSION - PUBLIC WELCOME! employment, he served in government assistance in Bend, where he adminis- tered the initial food stamp program for Central Oregon. He retired in 1987, at almost 62 years old. “And I never earned another dime,” he liked to joke. He was an avid fisherman throughout his life. He also was a voracious reader and a favorite patron at Sisters Library. He was a perfect neighbor, always offering assis- tance in plowing snow or bucking fallen trees. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Dolores, and a great-granddaughter, Jazzlyn. He is survived by his daughters, Dianne Perla (and Jim); Cheryl Smith (and Robert); brother Jim Romans; his grandchildren, Tracy Ward, Kerisna Wilhelmson, Lance Perla, Jeff Perla, Lisa Jones, Stephen Scott and Andrea Bermudez. There are 12 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. The family will hold a pri- vate service. WATER: Warming temperatures could exacerbate problem Continued from page 17 questions about their effects on human health. “When water bodies warm up earlier and stay warmer longer... you increase the number of incidents,” said Wayne Carmichael, a retired Wright State University pro- fessor specializing in the organisms. “That’s just logi- cal, and it’s being borne out.” Technically called cya- nobacteria, the ancient class of organisms that create the blooms are present nearly everywhere water is found, but thrive in warm, still bod- ies like lakes and ponds. They also create a unique class of toxins, the impact of which on humans is only partly understood. Long linked to animal deaths, high doses of the toxins in humans can cause liver damage and attack the nervous system. In the larg- est outbreaks, hundreds have been sickened by blooms in reservoirs and lakes, and offi- cials in some areas now rou- tinely close bodies of water used for recreation and post warnings when blooms occur. But less is known about exposure at lower doses, especially over the long term. Small studies have linked exposure to liver cancer — one toxin is classified as a carcinogen, and others have pointed to potential links to neurodegenerative disease. But definitively proving those links would require larger studies, said Carmichael, who helped the World Health Organization set the first safe exposure standards for the toxins. It’s absolutely certain in my mind that warming temperatures are going to end up causing more of these algal blooms. — Steven Chapra “It’s absolutely certain in my mind that warming tem- peratures are going to end up causing more of these algal blooms,” said Steven Chapra, an environmental engineering professor at Tufts University. See WATER on page 24
