Ralph began in the Grand Valley State Colleges in 1965. He served as Chairman of the Department of Mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences from 1971 to 1973. Ralph was an early advocate of using technology to teach mathematics, and he gave presentations on this subject in the department and in the broader community. In addition, he was the contest coordinator of the High School Computer Programming Contest held at Grand Valley. Ralph enjoyed working on mathematical problems, and he often submitted solutions to the problem section of the College Mathematics Journal.

Ralph was a U.S. army veteran, having served with the 10th Ordinance Company in Giessen, Germany until 1956 as a requisition clerk. Outside of the mathematics world, Ralph was also an avid golfer and baker. After he retired, Ralph became a community columnist for the Grand Haven Tribune, writing on mathematics and many other topics. Sadly, Ralph passed away in 2014.