LT Ralph J. Gilbert
1929 – 2023
USN
KOR
Ralph James Gilbert was born March 30, 1929, in Chamberlain, South Dakota, to Alva and Mera Eno Gilbert.
Gilbert graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1951, and was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force. He went on to earn a J.D. from Georgetown Law in 1957, and an MBA from Harvard in 1961.
In 1958, he married his high school sweetheart, Connie Doherty, in Pierre, South Dakota; they were married for 56 years and raised three children.
In 1965, Gilbert joined the law firm of Baker McKenzie in Chicago in 1965, retiring from the firm 27 years later.
His indomitable spirit, humor, and optimism were maintained through the end. Among his final words, “The future looks good.”
Lieutenant Ralph J. Gilbert died in Barrington surrounded by family on December 1, 2023. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery with his wife.
-----
Remember. Honor. Teach.
Courtesy of Signal Hill Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution