Obituary of Ralph John Paduano

The following obituary was written by Ralph: Olympia, Washington resident, Ralph John Paduano, passed away on August 3, 2015 after a 19-month battle against Cancer. He was born Raphael John Paduano, a second generation Italian American, and spent his entire youth in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1965, while a student at the University of Rhode Island, he received his draft notice. Although he didn’t realize it at the time, he later admitted that this proved to be a blessing in disguise. He enlisted in the Army and went through basic and advanced individual training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He was selected to attend Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery. He spent the next two and one-half years in Germany where he commanded an artillery battery along with other staff assignments. From Germany, he went to helicopter flight training, then on to Vietnam in 1969 to fly with the 7/17th Air Cavalry. He returned home intact with a Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars, one with a “V” device, and 23 Air Medals and various other decorations. He spent the next three years in Oklahoma where he completed his undergraduate degree and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma. His next stop in his Army career was Germany again, where he commanded an airfield detachment, then on to the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia, a Joint Chiefs of Staff school. Upon completing the six-month course of instruction, he was assigned to Fort Lewis in 1979 where he was the Ninth Division and Fort Lewis Public Affairs Officer. In 1982, he went to Fort Meade, Maryland for his final duty stop, and retired after serving his country for 20 years. Now a civilian, he returned to Tacoma with his family and started a public relations business. He did this for five years, and then became interested in public education while doing consulting work for the Tacoma School District. He squeezed in being a full time student at the University of Puget Sound while running his business, and became a certificated teacher in 1990. He was hired that year by the Tacoma School District and taught fifth grade at Whitman Elementary for six years. During that time, he returned to UPS at night to pursue his principal credentials. He received those in 1995, and the next year was hired by the Aberdeen School District. For the next five years, he was a junior high vice principal and an elementary principal; however, the time strain of commuting from his home in Olympia did little to satisfy his desire to spend more time with his family. He resigned from the Aberdeen School District and was hired by the Clover Park School District as an instructional facilitator at Clarkmoor Elementary on Fort Lewis. He spent his last year as a third grade teacher and retired in 2008. Ralph is survived by his loving wife, Caprice; his daughter, Lucia; and his son, Mario. He is also survived by his three brothers, Michael, Anthony, and John, as well as numerous other relatives back East. He will be remembered by all who knew and loved him. Memorial donations may be made to the Children’s Reading Foundation at http://readingfoundation.org/. Click Donate/Donate Locally, then select South Sound WA. There is a space to insert Ralph’s name under In Honor/In Memory of. Donations may also be mailed to the South Sound Reading Foundation at 305 College Street SE, Lacey, WA 98516. Please leave memories of Ralph or condolences for his family in the Guestbook below.