Ralph M. Jones

Doctor Ralph McLain Jones was born on a Sunday in a settlement alongside Caney Creek, which feeds into the Duck River some 50 miles south of Nashville, Tennessee; maintained his charming drawl for 67 years in Toledo, Ohio; and passed away peacefully on December 12, 2021 at Swan Creek Assisted Living with his beloved daughter and son-in-law at his bedside. He was 94. The only child of Madalene & James McLain Jones, he spent his childhood on farms in Caney Springs, Pottsville and Eagleville, Tennessee, graduating 1st in his class from Eagleville High School in 1945. Much to his dad’s chagrin, Ralph didn’t follow in his father’s farming footsteps. Instead, he moved to Knoxville and enrolled at the University of Tennessee. His time there was interrupted by his enlistment in the U.S. Army near the end of World War Two. He was stationed at Hickam Field on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, where he worked as a cryptographic technician. After The War, he returned to Knoxville and resumed his pre-med curriculum. During this time, while working as an orderly at Fort Sanders Hospital, he met the love of his life–Lillian Walker. Ralph & Lill moved to Memphis and married during his first year of medical school at the University of Tennessee, where he became a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha medical fraternity. Lillian worked as an RN, and Ralph worked as a lab technician at Baptist Memorial Hospital until he completed his Medicinae Doctor. Dr. & Mrs. Jones moved to Toledo, Ohio where he finished a medical residency at Saint Vincent Hospital. He returned to his Eagleville, Tennessee roots and opened a medical clinic before moving back to Toledo, where he spent the rest of his career in family medicine as one of the founding members of Family Practice of Toledo until retiring July 1, 1993. During retirement, he and Lillian spent months at a time on their motorhomes, traveling extensively throughout the United States. His travels were punctuated by memorable excursions with each of his grandsons. Ralph was a seasoned fly fisher, a mediocre archer, a licensed pilot, a scuba diver, a card shark, a polite tennis player, an avid traveler, and an archetypal southern gentleman. He also enjoyed golf, bicycling, and cross-country skiing. He was a longstanding member of Belmont Country Club in Perrysburg, Ohio and Slagle Trout Club in Mesick, Michigan. He also held former memberships with Rockwell Springs Trout Club, the Zenobia Shrine, and Epworth United Methodist Church, later attending Westgate Chapel. During the last seven years of his life, he lived at the Swan Creek retirement community in Toledo, Ohio and served a term as president of its residents association. He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Lillian and by his son, Timothy, both in 2014. He is survived by his daughter, Lynn (Jeff) Alvanos; daughter-in-law, Debbie (Timothy) Jones; three grandchildren: Timothy Ryan (Stephanie) & Matthew (Ashley) Alvanos and Michael (Maria) Jones; and nine great grandchildren: Martin & River and Quinn & Jonah Alvanos, and Logan, Julia, Elise, Caleb & Miles Jones. Memorial contributions can be made in Ralph’s name to: Ohio Living Swan Creek Helping Hands Fund, 5916 Crest Haven Lane, Toledo, Ohio 43614. A celebration of Ralph’s life will be held May 14, 2022 at 1:00 P.M. at Belmont Country Club 29601 Bates Road, Perrysburg Ohio 43551. Arrangements are being coordinated by Witzler- Shank-Walker Funeral Home, (419) 874-3133 in Perrysburg, Ohio. Online condolences may be left at www.walkerfuneralhomes.com.