Ralph W. Sanders

Ralph W. Sanders, 91, West Des Moines, Iowa, died peacefully at home on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.

Ralph was born March 19, 1933, near Stonington, III, the fourth of six children born to John N. and Zelda (Wetzel) Sanders. He had many fond memories of growing up on the family farm, and graduated from Stonington Community High School in 1951.

He was a U.S. Army veteran, serving 18 months in Germany. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. degree in Journalism. There he met the love of his life, Joanne Lee Helms of Belleville, IlI., and married December 26, 1959. They celebrated their 64th anniversary in 2023.

Joanne and Ralph first lived in Decatur, III., where their oldest five children were born. They moved to West Des Moines, la. in 1968, where their youngest children (twins) were born.

Ralph enjoyed his blended vocations-avocations; including those of radio newsman-announcer, newspaper reporter, farm magazine writer, freelance photographer, author, agricultural historian, aircraft pilot, amateur genealogist, and most especially husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

After early years in radio and newspapers, he held positions as a writer/editor for Prairie Farmer and Successful Farming magazines.

He never held a job he didn't enjoy.  But his sanity could have been questioned in 1974, he later reflected, when with seven children at home, he quit his job at Meredith Corp. to start Sanders Photographics, a free-lance photography business. With his wife Joanne working beside him, and a list of excellent clients, they retired in 1996...some 24 years without a "regular" job.

After retirement, Ralph was the author/photographer of four books on classic farm tractors and their origins. The photographs and stories of restored classic farm tractors he gathered as he and Joanne traveled the country also illustrated more than 32 different wall calendars. Five of his books and seven calendars have been acquired by the Henry Ford Museum archives.

Ralph is survived by his wife, Joanne; seven children, Julie (Michael) Probst of West Des Moines, Scott (Joy) of Des Moines, David (Lori) of Clive, Richard (Chris) of Ames, Kevin (Vicki) of West Des Moines, Neil (Rose) of Chicago, III., and JoEllen (Steve) Nadel of Clive; 15 grandchildren, Kaytlyn, Elizabeth, Zachary, Annie, Nicholas, Matthew, Joie, Benjamin, Zoe, Aaron, Natalie, William, Isabella, Fynlan and Aiden; and seven great-grandchildren. Also surviving are two sisters, Mary (Eldon) Anderson, and Nina (John) Bradbury, and brother-in-law Robert (Rebecca) Hull.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Zelda (Wetzel) Sanders, brothers John and James, sister Rebecca Hull, brothers-in-law Eldon Anderson and John Bradbury, and sisters-in-laws, Marian (John) and Linda (James) Sanders.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be 1:00 P.M., Saturday, October 5, 2024, at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines. A visitation will be 12:00 P.M. to 1:00 P.M., Saturday, October 5, 2024, At St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines. Inurnment will be at the Jordan Cemetery in West Des Moines at a later date.  Online condolences and live streaming are available at www.caldwellparrish.com.

Livestreaming available at this link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0vNDAoRKVg

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations for a memorial bench to be placed along Athene Trail at the Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines in honor of Ralph Sanders. Contributions can be sent to the family via venmo @joanne_sanders or click on the tribute wall to scan the QR code to support this lasting tribute to Ralph’s memory.