Ralph E. Ragette

Ralph E. Ragette, 80, of Brookfield, died at his home June 13. He was the husband of Lorraine (Fletcher) Ragette.

He is survived by a daughter, Elain R. Breitling and her husband, Edmund, of Newtown.

Mr Ragette was born on June 13, 1920, in Mt Vernon, N.Y., son of the late Rudolph R. and Josephine (Fenninger) Ragette. He moved to Brookfield in 1969 from Mt Vernon, where he resided for 49 years. He graduated from Davis High School in 1938 and attended Hobart College. He served in the Army Transport Command with the rank of captain in San Francisco during World War II. Following the war, he returned to Mt Vernon and attended New York University School of Commerce, where he majored in real estate and business. In 1948 he moved the family real estate business to Fleetwood, Mt Vernon. In 1951 he purchased his office building in Eastchester and expanded the business throughout Westchester. He was president of the Westchester County Board of Realtors and named Realtor of the Year in 1977. Mr Ragette was treasurer for the United Patriots Committee, chairman of the Sponsoring Committee for the annual Veterans’ Danbury Fair Outing. In 1949 he was elected to the Mt Vernon Zoning Board of Appeals and served as a city alderman from 1953 to 1965. He also served on the County Board of Supervisors, as president of the Mt Vernon Kiwanis in 1966, was a member of the Eastchester Rotary, and was elected to the Brookfield Zoning Commission in 1993.

Besides his wife, he is survived by four sons, Ralph R. of White Plains, N.Y., Paul F. and his wife, Rose, of Danbury, Mark F. of New Fairfield, and Neil F. of Brookfield; nine grandchildren, Daniel, Ralph, Jaclyn, Nicole, Jennifer, and Kelly Ragette, and Elisabeth, Edmund, and Ethan Breitling.

Funeral services will be on Friday at the Cornell Memorial Home, 247 White Street, Danbury, at 11 am, with the Rev Cathy Adams-Shepherd of Trinity Episcopal Church, Newtown, officiating. Burial will be in Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, N.Y.

Calling hours were scheduled for Thursday, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 pm.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Regional Hospice of Western CT, 30 West Street, Danbury, CT 06810.

The Newtown Bee         June 15, 2001