Ralph W. Kitron

Ralph W. “Mr. Wizard” Kitron, Sr., 73, of St. Joseph, passed away Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at home surrounded by his family. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Silver Beach Carousel Museum. Arrangements are entrusted to Starks & Menchinger Chapel, St. Joseph. Those wishing to sign Ralph’s Memory Book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Ralph was born April 14, 1939 in an apartment above North Shore Inn in Benton Harbor. He had a passion for hot rods/cars and was a member of the Road Barons Car Club in Benton Harbor during high school. He graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1957. His passion for building and restoring cars led him to become a member of the National Hot Rod Association. His 1969 Swamp Fox Top Fuel Dragster that he re-built was picked as one of the NHRA’s Golden 50 in the nation. It was displayed at the NHRA Motor Sports Museum in Pomona, CA. His autos were featured in many Blossomtime Parades, with Pink Panther at the helm. Ralph owned and operated Ralph’s Place at Brian’s Marina in St. Joseph for many years. He loved living in St. Joseph. Ralph was instrumental in the founding of the Venetian Festival, and was appointed honorary Admiral a few years ago. He was a key volunteer at the Silver Beach Carousel. He built many exhibits for the Carousel Museum including the Silver Beach Diorama and the Great Zandini, and restored many other items. Ralph’s passion was making people happy, especially children. He had a heart of gold and enjoyed hanging out around the “garage” to talk about politics or cars with his many friends. He was known as “Million Dollar Ralph” and was a friend to all who met him. He will be deeply missed. Ralph is survived by his life partner and soul mate, Connie Yore of St. Joseph; his children Kathie (Mike) Green of Fort Wayne, IN; Ralph W. Kitron, Jr. of St. Joseph; and Richard Kitron of St. Joseph; Jeff (Janice) Hemsath of Stevensville; his special children Megan (E. Thomas Norbey, II) Yore-Norbey of Stevensville; Patrick (Kristen) Yore of Fairfax, California; his seven grandchildren, Matt, Joe, Cara and Katie Green; Ryan Kitron; Kaley and Caitlyn Kitron; special grandchildren Gigi and Summer Yore and Trey and Mia Norbey and Isaac Hemsath; three great-grandchildren, Phoebe Hess, and Mylee and Allison Green; and friends too numerous to mention. Ralph was preceded in death by his parents Robert Kitron in 2002 and Kathryn (Case) Kitron in 1997, and his sister Dianne Vollman in 1987.