Ralph Reece
Ralph Isaac Reece, 92, went to be with the Lord on September 10, 2021.
He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on September 26, 1928, to the late Wilson Landerine and Louie Anderson Reece.
He was preceded in death by his brothers, Ellis Reece and Norman Reece.
He is survived by a son, Waller (Kaye) Reece of Chattanooga: a daughter, Sharon (Park) Neff of Arcola, MS; four grandchildren, Jeremy Reece of Chattanooga; Tina (Ben) Wyatt of Chattanooga; Courtney (TJ) Williams of Madison, MS; Jennifer (Lance) McWilliams of Oxford, MS; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Ralph graduated from Chattanooga High School in 1945 and then served with the Army in Korea during the American Occupation. He graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1951, becoming licensed as a certified public accountant in 1954. He joined the accounting firm of Hazlett, Lewis and Bieter, remaining at the firm for his entire career until retiring in 1994 as senior partner. Ralph also worked on many large cases with Judge Ralph Kelly, referee for the Eastern District of the United States Bankruptcy Court in Tennessee.
He married Barbara Elizabeth Chenault on March 4, 1949. They lived in Chattanooga all of their lives except for a few years when Ralph attended UT Knoxville. He was a faithful member of Northside Baptist Church, First Baptist Church, and most recently Stuart Heights Baptist Church, and was ordained as a deacon at Northside.
After his family, Ralph’s great love was playing golf. A member of the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club since 1966, his ambition when he retired was to play golf several days a week. Ralph went on many golf trips with friends and he and Barbara enjoyed golf trips with other couples. He made 4 holes-in-one in his lifetime and only stopped playing because of health issues at 90.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 11 a.m. at Stuart Heights Baptist Church, Chattanooga Campus. A private family burial will precede the service.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to the Missions Fund at Stuart Heights Baptist Church or a charity of your choice.
Arrangements are under the care of the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson. Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com