Obituary for William “Ralph” Beaty, Jr.

Ralph Beaty, Jr.

January 18, 1933 – June 15, 2023

Longtime Ponca City resident, William Ralph Beaty, Jr., 90, passed away surrounded by family on the evening of June 15, 2023, at Via Christi Village. A service celebrating Ralph’s life will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, June 24, 2023, at First Christian Church in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Arrangements are under the direction of Trout Funeral Home & Crematory, 505 W. Grand Ave, Ponca City, OK, 74601.

Ralph was born January 18, 1933, in Hope, Arkansas, the first child of William Ralph and Vera Beaty. His sister Rita was born three years later. His early years were spent in Emmet, Arkansas, where he was surrounded by a loving extended family. His family later moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas, where he went to school. In Emmet he was known as Junior, but in Siloam Springs and thereafter he went by Ralph, just like his dad.

He began college mid-way through his senior year of high school. He graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1955, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering. He participated in ROTC and after graduation, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force. He served with the Strategic Air Command and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant before his active duty ended.

Ralph then began his fulfilling career with Continental Oil Company (Conoco) in Ponca City. He loved his work, first in process engineering, then mostly in research and development. He traveled all over the world during his career, seeking out new sources of chemical products and solving problems for Conoco. His work travels took him to the Middle East, Malaysia, Russia, Japan, Europe, South America, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and countless trips to Wilmington, Delaware, and Houston. A highlight of his career was helping design and patent Crude Drag Reducer, a product designed to move crude oil more efficiently through the Alaskan Pipeline.

Ralph dreamed of being an entrepreneur, and in the mid 1960s, with friends he began buying interests in small businesses, including an insurance agency, a bar, an indoor mini-golf course, and the most important being Farha Wholesale and Fowler Vending, which are now owned by his son and daughter-in-law, Brad and Tina Beaty. After 38 years with Conoco, Ralph retired in 1993, and enjoyed a second career helping out at the vending and wholesale businesses. He later volunteered building houses for Habitat for Humanity, serving at Friendship Feast, and delivering Meals on Wheels.

As a young bachelor in Ponca City, Ralph met Pauletta Barr, a young school teacher whom he described as the prettiest girl he had ever seen. They were married on November 25, 1960 and had three children: Brad, Jana, and Susan. When Ralph married Pauletta, he joined the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), which had been built in part by her grandfather. Ralph was a devoted member of First Christian for the rest of his life. Over the years he served as a Sunday School teacher, van driver, deacon, elder, member and chair of the church’s board, and led various stewardship and capital campaigns.

Ralph loved living in Ponca City. In early adulthood he was very involved in the local Jaycees. He also served the Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls when his kids were young. He was a member of Rotary International for over 40 years. He was a Paul Harris Fellow and was proud to be named Rotarian of the year in 2012. He loved attending Rotary meetings, up until the week before he died, and volunteering with other Rotarians, particularly delivering dictionaries and reading with local elementary students.

Ralph’s main hobbies were thinking and problem solving, following the stock market and gas prices, working in his yard in the summer, and building beautiful fires every night in the winter. In younger years he sailed and played golf and tennis. He enjoyed annual trips to Colorado and skied until he was 80. Ralph also enjoyed lifelong learning with his friends in the Young Couples’ Literary Guild, and solving the world’s problems each week with his dear fellow Oracles. With Pauletta, he loved going to any and all cultural events, particularly plays and musical performances.

As a boy, Ralph learned lessons that shaped his character as a kind, gentle, compassionate, honorable, selfless, and humble man. His intellectual curiosity, open mind, and ability to see problems from every perspective made him a natural engineer, but also a perceptive and loving father. He taught his children by his example and by amusing stories from his own life, rather than by lectures and rules. He trusted his kids to do their best and he allowed them to make their own decisions. He loved and supported his family in any way he could.

Ralph is survived by Pauletta, his wife of nearly 63 years; son Brad and wife Tina; daughter Jana Bright and husband Chris; daughter Susan; grandchildren Kaity and Braden Beaty and Sophie and Sam Bright; brother-in-law O.K. Goolsby; niece GayLynn Clyde and husband Ken (children Kolby and Kacie) and nephew Grant Goolsby and wife Krista (children Rachel and Dylan); aunt Lillian Cargile; and several cousins.

Ralph was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Rita Beaty Goolsby, his mother- and father-in-law Lottie and Paul Barr, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to causes important to Ralph: Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, or Friendship Feast at First Christian Church. You can honor Ralph by sharing a smile, pitching in where you see a need, and always seeing the best in others.

Source: Trout Funeral Home