Memorial

Technical Sergeant Ralph Harold Zeller, U.S. Air Force Reserve Retired, resident of Sun City, Arizona since 2005, and resident of Arizona since 1987, accepted orders to report to Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates of Heaven on June 2, 2015 at the age of 77, succumbing to a three year fight with rare Mantle B cell lymphoma.

Ralph was the youngest child of Joseph John Zeller and Mary Marie Quigley.  He was named after his uncle Ralph William Zeller.  Born and raised on a farm for 19 years.  Ralph began his formal education at a small rural school and then switched to Holy Trinity Catholic elementary and middle school in Rollingstone, Minnesota.  After his family moved to Iowa, Ralph became involved in sports playing football as an offensive and defensive lineman as well as running the 220 yard yard finishing fourth in the state track finals.  His parents moved to Palo, Iowa, but Ralph stayed in Monona working for dairy farmers earning room and board to complete high school.  Ralph was the first member of his family to graduate from high school, graduating in 1956 in Monona, Iowa.  He was also the first member of the family to attend college, graduating in 1966 from the University of Wisconsin in Platteville, Wisconsin – where his son and granddaughter later attended, following in his footsteps.  Ralph embraced the concept of being a lifelong student, always studying and learning.  Reading was a passion, and he spent many hours every day with his nose buried in some form of literature.  He was one class short of earning his Master’s degree when he was called up for duty into Heavenly Paradise.

Ralph spent his entire adult life serving and helping others.  Ralph joined and honorably served his country in the U.S. Marines from 1957 to 1960, earning a trophy in recruit training for setting a new shooting range record.  After graduating from college in 1966 with a major in biology and sociology; he became a probation officer and social worker, helping out the less fortunate and the Native American Meskwaki Tribe near Tama, Iowa while also working as a liaison officer between the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, and several native tribes for three years.  Ralph then became a middle and high school science and sociology teacher, molding young minds attending the Bondurant-Farrar Community Schools in Bondurant, Iowa from 1970 to 1983.  Well ahead of the times, Ralph started a popular Ecology Club for the high school students, traveling around with the students raising awareness of the environmental issues.  Of note, in the early 1970s the Ecology Club planted several two-foot tall evergreen trees in between the school’s athletic fields and the sewage lagoon.  Today, these are giant trees and obscure observation of the unsightly lagoon.  Ralph was selected by the Iowa State University as the Science Teacher of the Year and elected as the President of the Teachers Association.  Ralph coached and managed little league baseball in the mid-1970s.  He also worked several short-term and part-time employments such as: mechanic, truck driver, and police officer.

Growing up in a rural community, Ralph loved animals.  He bred and sold several dozen award-winning Doberman Pinchers.

Ralph was the Institutional Head for the Boy Scouts of America.  With his efforts, he started Cub Scout Pack 10, Boy Scout Troop 10, and the Explorer Scouts in Bondurant, Iowa.  He served in various Scouting leadership positions and took many scouts on various camping trips.  He was able to watch both of his sons earn the coveted Eagle Scout Award.  Ralph was also inducted into the Scouting Order of the Arrow during this time.  In 1977, he once again raised his right hand and took an oath to serve his country in the Iowa Air National Guard.  Ralph also went into the nutritional, wellness, and weight-loss counseling business with his wife Clio JoAnn Piper in 1983, serving as Secretary Treasurer of their Midwest Diet Center corporation.  They opened Diet Centers offices in several central Iowa and southwest Wisconsin.  In 1987, they moved to Arizona and opened new Diet Centers offices in Phoenix and on Easy Street in Carefree, again helping hundreds of people to get healthy and lose excess weight.  Ralph joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve, was assigned to Luke Air Force Base for duty, and retired from the service in April 1995.  Gaining notoriety in the local area as a nutritional expert, Ralph was asked by a local paper to write a regular column in the 1990s and published more than 100 articles.  Ralph was also frequently asked to speak at various events about nutrition.  In 2005, they moved from Phoenix to Sun City and operated their business from their home beginning in 2007.  Ralph authored and published a book on nutrition, Your health, your choice.  

Ralph was preceded in death by his youngest son, Joseph William Zeller (named after Ralph’s great-grandfather, father, great-uncle, uncle, and father-in-law); his parents Joseph John Zeller and Mary Marie Quigley; his paternal grandparents, Marcus Zeller and Mary Ann Dahman Zeller Kline; his maternal grandparents Michael Quigley and Mary Weigert Quigley; his siblings: Joseph Marcus Zeller, Donald Francis Zeller, Hilary Zeller, infant Mary Zeller, and infant Catherine Zeller; and his first cousin Joan Zeller.

Ralph is survived by his spouse of 54 years, Clio JoAnn Piper Zeller; his sons and daughters-in-law: Jeffrey Ralph Zeller, Tammy Acherman Zeller, Sidney Grant Zeller, and Abbie Zeller; his grandchildren: Jeffrey Michael Sapico Zeller, Julie Elizabeth Zeller, Emily Catherine Zeller, and Jeremiah Matthew Sapico Zeller; siblings James Ervin Zeller and Marcena Zeller Kline; sister-in-law Mildred Zeller; first cousin Jean Zeller; as well as many wonderful nieces, nephews, and distant cousins.

Ralph was born in Little Falls, Minnesota and lived in several locations in Iowa and Wisconsin, served on active duty in the Marines in Tennessee, Florida, and California, and retired in Arizona.

Ralph loved to travel and see the amazing world the Good Lord has given us.  While in the military, he was able to travel many places ranging from Alaska to Panama to England.  For leisure he was traveled to nearly all 50 states and 22 countries including numerous European countries; sailed from San Francisco to New York through the Panama Canal on a cruise ship; floated up the western coast of the U.S. and Canada; visited Christ’s birthplace and tomb in Israel (and renewed his marriage vows with JoAnn in Jerusalem at the place where Jesus turned water into wine); danced like no one was watching in Jamaica; ate fried bugs in Vietnam; skipped stones in Guantanamo Bay; admired pyramids in Egypt; repeatedly hiked the Grand Canyon end to end; went on safari in South Africa where he saw rhinos, elephants, lions, buffalo, giraffes, and cheetahs; danced in the Indian Ocean; used coconuts as currency on San Blas Island; was baptized in the Jordan River; island-hopped in Hawaii; enjoyed whitewater rafting on the Snake River in Idaho; fought paintball battles; stood in elevated guard posts surrounded by minefields on the fence-line in Guantanamo Bay; and fed the bears in Yellowstone, resulting in one bear climbing into the open car window and attempting to carjack JoAnn’s 1951 Plymouth.

Ralph never met a stranger – he made others smile daily, made friends easily, conversed with anyone nearby, and shared countless laughs with his loud, infectious laugh.  A gifted orator, he was happiest telling stories and being surrounded by happy people.  Most people who knew him well say he was the most positive, happy person they knew.  His knowledge of nutrition and the functioning of the human body were phenomenal.  He helped thousands of people improve the quality of their lives.  Ralph will be missed by everyone who knew him, but we rejoice in the honor we had in knowing him.  We can take solace knowing that Heaven is a happier, brighter place because he has joined their exclusive community, and is making everyone smile with his boisterous laugh.

The celebration of Ralph’s life and his contributions to society will occur at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home, 4200 1st Avenue NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (the first building on the left) from 4:00 until 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, 2015 with a special service starting at 6:00 p.m.  If you wish to join us in remembering all the wonderful times with Ralph, please do so.  A mass will be said on Monday, June 29, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Jude Catholic Church located at 50 Edgewood Road NW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Ralph will be interred with military honors at the rural St. Joseph Cemetery at 800 Sisley Grove Road at the intersection of Route 30 and Sisley Grove Road, just outside of Cedar Rapids.  Ralph will be laid to rest next to his infant son, his parents, and his brother Donald and sister-in-law Eleanor.  In lieu of flowers, a memorial scholarship for education has been established in Ralph’s name.  Contributions may be sent directly to JoAnn Zeller or to Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home.

A gathering to remember Ralph will be held at the Zeller residence: 11066 West Oak Ridge Road, Sun City, Arizona  85351 on Tuesday, July 14, 2015 from 1:00 until 4:00 p.m.  Friends and relatives may contact JoAnn with questions.