Ralph R. Thoene
March 9, 1920 - March 14, 2010

Ralph R. Thoene DURANT, Iowa - Ralph R. Thoene, 90, Durant, died Sunday, March 14, 2010, at Genesis Medical Center, West Campus in Davenport. Funeral Service will be 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 18, 2010, at the Bentley Funeral Home, Durant. Serving as casket bearers will be Michael Tillman, Matt Thoene, Jeff Thoene, Robert P. Thoene, Derick Thoene, Dennis Thoene Jr., and Travis Thoene. Burial will take place in Durant Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17, 2010, at the funeral home. Memorial donations may be made to Durant Ambulance Service in his memory. Ralph was born on March 9, 1920, the son of Walter and Amanda Dietz Thoene in Muscatine County. He married Sophie I. Ruchotzke on October 7, 1941, in Lowden. During World War II, he was a radar technician in the Signal Corps. He retired from Alcoa in 1983 where he worked in the maintenance department for 19 years. Previously, he had worked at Luethye Plumbing and Heating in Durant. He was a former member of the Durant Lions Club. He enjoyed bowling, trapping and working with wood. He was a jack of all trades. He is survived and lovingly remembered by his wife, Sophie Thoene of Durant; his daughter, Judith Tillman and husband, Jerry, of Nevada; his sons, Robert Thoene and wife, Bev, of Albany, Illinois, Dennis Thoene and wife, Deb, of Davenport, Bruce Thoene and wife, Kathy, of Long Grove, Lyle Thoene of Burlington, Kansas, and Darrell Thoene and wife, Patty, of West Branch; 18 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren; and a sister, Florence Hutchens of Tipton. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Lois Wirth.

Tributes