Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home

ROCKLAND, MAINE - Ralph Gray Eldridge, 88, passed away at his home on Wednesday, May 6, 2015.
Born in Quincy, MA, May 24, l926, he was the son of Robert Ernest and Audrey Gray Eldridge. At the age of seventeen he enlisted in the Navy and served as a Seabee on the Pacific front during World War II. He retired with the rank of Commander, from his Navy career of more than thirty years. Ralph studied physics and meteorology receiving degrees from Boston College and MIT. He spent many years working for Mitre Corporation.
Ralph’s love of family and country was matched only by his love of music, sailing and wooden boats. He served as a volunteer at the Mystic Seaport Boathouse and was a member of the Newport Navy Choristers for many years. Since arriving in Maine, he participated in the local jam at the Sail, Power and Steam Museum in Rockland.
Ralph is preceded in death by his wife of thirty-four years, Marie Duffy Eldridge, with whom he had six children as well as his second wife, Sara Crockett, and his grandson, Daniel Robert Eldridge. He is survived by his wife, Mary Alyce Eldridge; his children, Robert John Eldridge and wife Theresa of Wilmington, N.C., Gayle Marie Powers and husband Robert of Westford, MA, Paul Michael Eldridge and wife Jane of Billerica, MA, Ralph Colin Eldridge of Marlborough, MA, John Christopher Eldridge of Buckley, WA, Peter Norman Eldridge of Billerica, MA; step-daughter Paige Weaver-Mangrum of Nashville, TN and step-son Jess Conrad of Monticello, ME, as well as seventeen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
A celebration of his life will be held at 1:00 P.M., Monday, June 29, 2015, at the Sail, Power and Steam Museum at 75 Mechanic Street in Rockland, ME.
Memorial donations may be made to the Sail, Power and Steam Museum, 75 Mechanic St. Rockland; Pope Memorial Humane Society, P.O. Box 1294, Rockland or Kno-Wal-Lin Hospice, 170 Pleasant St., Rockland, ME 04841.
To share a memory or story with Ralph’s family, please visit his Book of Memories, at www.bchfh.com.