Ralph Mclaughlin

CONCORD, NC – Ralph Henry McLaughlin, 91, died Monday, Feb. 26, at Taylor Glen Retirement Center of Concord. He was surrounded by the love of his family, in person and in spirit. Born in Newell on March 15, 1932, he was the son of the late John T. and Maude Estelle Utley McLaughlin.

Services will be Monday, March 4, at Back Creek Presbyterian Church, 1821 Back Creek Church Road, in Charlotte. The family will receive friends at 2 p.m. with the funeral service at 3.

He is survived by his wife of 11 years, Lorna Gay McLaughlin; children Linda McLaughlin LaRose and husband Paul of Lenoir, Donna McLaughlin Otto and husband Robert of Vero Beach, FL, Michael McLaughlin of Raleigh, Patrick McLaughlin of Durham, Beth McLaughlin and partner Jeff Nicoll of Durham; stepson Josh King and wife Laura of Concord; grandchildren Melanie and Billy Pierce of Raleigh, Michael and Meghan Poole of Louisburg, Crystal Otto Illidge and husband Edward of Vero Beach, FL, Rachel Dye of Lenoir, John McLaughlin of Raleigh, Claire McLaughlin Proum and husband Kevin of Chapel Hill, Matthew McLaughlin and wife Sarah of Durham and Switzerland. Ralph is also survived by great-grandchildren Abby and Gracie Pierce of Raleigh, Charlotte Illidge of Vero Beach, FL, and Jackson Thompson of Lenoir; sister-in-law Shirley McLaughlin of Fort Mill, SC; and step-granddaughter Bella King of Concord

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Peggy Love McLaughlin; son John McLaughlin; daughters-in-law Diane McLaughlin and Noel Todd McLaughlin and son-in-law Jim Snead; brothers John Bell McLaughlin, Isaac Grier McLaughlin, Brice Cochran McLaughlin, James Wright McLaughlin, and Joseph Edward McLaughlin.

He struggled valiantly to make it to his 92nd birthday. After a year in hospice care, he failed to meet his goal by three weeks. He did, however live through the UNC vs. Miami basketball game and died about 30 minutes after the Tar Heels' victory. He also made it through the Pearly Gates in time to celebrate Coach Dean Smith's heavenly birthday.

Born into the family's dairy farm trade, he learned hard work at a young age. His father died when Ralph was 12 years old, and with his eldest brother taking the lead, the McLaughlin boys and their mother ran the farm. The family were faithful members of Back Creek Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Ralph grew up to serve the church first as a deacon and then an elder. He also served as chair of the cemetery committee.

Once he gave a speech at church and said when he was growing up, “It wasn't nothing for us to go to church with no shoes on. Now if you came to church with no shoes, we'd buy you a pair.”

As a young adult he left the farm to work for American Breeders Service, where he bred thousands of cows. Among artifacts discovered when he was down-sizing homes was a certificate saying he'd earned recognition for breeding 10,000 cows over a period of 10 years.

Later he went to work driving a gasoline tanker for Gulf Oil Corporation, where he won many a truck rodeo. He was promoted to dispatcher, then bulk plant manager and retired as regional manager over the Charlotte and Greensboro tank farms after Gulf was acquired by British Petroleum. Fun fact: UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's auto-pen signed his paychecks.

He started running when he got interested in his eldest son's participation in the track and field program at Cochrane Jr. High School. He was an early adopter of the activity, back when people still thought running was odd. One time a nephew riding by yelled out of his car window, “Get a horse!”

Ralph was known widely in the Queen City as that middle-aged man who, rain or shine, at any temperature, ran 10 miles a day around northeast Charlotte – 15 if he was training for a marathon.

Before he hung up his Nikes he had run well over a half-dozen marathons, including the inaugural Charlotte Observer Marathon, the uphill-all-the-way Grandfather Mountain Marathon, and in 1978 the storied Boston Marathon, which, at age 46, he completed in 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Late in life he began spinning at the local sports center. He spun with the best of them. One family friend recounted joining the spinning class and figured since he was new, he'd ride behind Ralph, because surely he could keep up with a man in his mid-70s. “I was wrong. That man's a hoss.”

He was a sports fanatic, pulling for the UNC Tar Heel basketball, baseball, and football teams, as well as the San Francisco Giants baseball team. He made yearly trips to Florida to watch spring training games. He traveled many times to Atlanta, Denver and San Francisco to see baseball. He took his wife Lorna to Seattle to watch the Giants vs. the Mariners for their honeymoon. He loved taking trips to Omaha for the College World Series. He always remembered as a kid going to the Polo Grounds in New York as a young Giants fan.

There was that time he punched a hole in the wall when Bobby Richardson caught Willie McCovey's line drive to end the 1962 World Series. Atter that he never got mad about sports outcomes. Albeit sometimes he did get grumpy.

He liked to restore old houses, doing most of the work himself, along with his friend David Glen.

He enjoyed gardening and picking yard flowers for Peggy to paint. Sometimes it didn't matter whose yard it was. Peggy said, “If Ralph ever gets arrested, it will be for picking flowers where he's not supposed to.”

He enjoyed gardening; being walked/dragged by his dogs on Union Street in Concord (he began picking up poop after his dog Sally Girl before it was customary); he loved his cat, Rounder; newspapers, TV and magazines related to current events; he was into grassroots politics; for a time he helped the Lions Club put out flags on holidays; he also liked watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune each night with Lorna.

Ralph had the best smile, the greatest laugh and was loved by legions. Often he'd give a friendly greeting to someone when he and Peggy were out and about. After they passed by, Peggy would ask him who he was talking to. “That's my friend,” Ralph would say. She'd ask him the person's name, and he'd shrug and say, “I don't know.” Someone he met out running, most likely.

Last year he said, “Well I believe my days are about done.” Asked if he had any regrets, he said, “No. I've enjoyed every minute. Not too many people have had as much fun as I've had. Not many.” Another time he said, “Sometimes when you've over-worked your tired body, you just need to rest.”

Rest easy, Ralph Henry. Your memory is a blessing.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Deacon's Mercy Fund of Back Creek Presbyterian Church, 1821 Back Creek Church Road, Charlotte, NC, 28213, or your favorite charity.

Online condolence may be made at www,wilkinsonfuneralhome.com.