BEVERLY: Ralph Wendall Doble, Jr., 94, lifelong Beverly resident and decorated World War II veteran, died Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at Brookdale of Danvers following a long illness. He is survived and will be terribly missed by his wife of sixty-seven years, Arlene (Larrabee) Doble. Until the day he died, he said his wife was the most beautiful person he knew and that he’d loved her always. Ralph was an especially humble man, but he admitted he must have done something right to entice his wife to marry him and produce the family he loved and was so proud of.
Born in Beverly on July 17, 1922, he was the son of the late Ralph W. Doble, Sr. and Elsie A. (Murray) Doble. He was also a Beverly High School graduate class of 1941. Like many of his generation, he did not speak often of his successes and accomplishments, but he was proud of serving his country in the South Pacific performing Army/Air Force Photo Reconnaissance before, during and after critical missions.
He was a talented and award-winning photographer who, in 1961, had some of his works displayed by personal request in an office of a U.S. Congress Representative. After a full career which included owning his own photography studio and working in R&D at Polaroid Corporation, he further distinguished himself with a later career as a travel consultant. In this regard he was given the keys to the City of Innsbruck, Austria, for his work inspiring and promoting tourism to that-his favorite destination outside the U.S. He was a man of many interests, including trains, but especially of traveling the world with his wife. Equally he was known for his warmth, his sense of humor, his friendship and his sense of honor. Everyone who met him loved him, and his family most of all. They pray he is at peace with other loved ones who have passed before him.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Sharon Gapski and Laurie Meisner (her husband, Bill); one son, Kevin Doble; two granddaughters, Heather Steiner (her husband, Dean) and Emily Doble and three loving great-grandchildren, Holden Zimmerman, Hunter Zimmerman and Kennedy Steiner.
His funeral service will be held on Tuesday in the Grondin Funeral Home, 376 Cabot St., Beverly at 11 a.m. Visitation will be held prior to the service from 10:30 – 11 a.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. Interment with military honors will be held in North Beverly Cemetery. The family has not requested that any expressions of sympathy be in lieu of flowers; however the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 and the VNACare Network, 100 Trade Center, G-500, Woburn, MA 01801 are valued organizations.