Ralph Baty (Sep 28, 1943 to Jun 25, 2014)

Memories

Milt Evangelou

A wonderful and caring man who will be missed greatly.

Matthew Kidd

Ralph was a mischievous person but in a good way. He served on the San Diego unit board for many years and ran many of their sectionals. His passing is a big loss for bridge in the greater San Diego area.

Leila Bloomberg

Marty and I were shocked and saddened by Ralph’s sudden passing and still can’t believe he is gone. We will always remember him as will the many people whose lives he touched in such a positive way.

We met him in the 1990s in our early days playing duplicate bridge and enjoyed playing many bridge team games with him over the years. We also participated in the Tuesday night bridge games at his house that he so generously hosted and coordinated weekly for many years always making sure there were the right number of players and never canceling even when he had out-of-town company staying with him. He also went out of his way to help people learn and improve their bridge game by offering bridge lessons at his home. Moreover he was an active member of the San Diego Bridge Unit Board for eight years during which time he served as Tournament Chairman and coordinated all the sectional tournaments as well as holiday parties. Ralph will be sorely missed and long remembered for his caring spirit and all he did to help others and enrich their lives.

Larry Sherman

Ralph was a regular player at the Thursday evening game at the Soledad Club when I started playing once a week about six or seven years ago. I think he had a regular partnership with Sally Ishihara. He struck me as a professor type, always wearing sweater vests, long locks of hair, and the glasses that separated at the bridge of the nose that he typically let hang down onto his chest like a necklace.

I was a beginning bridge player then, and I knew I had done something I could hang my hat on when I made a bid that forced Ralph into taking the glasses into his hands, reconnecting them, and actually placing them onto his nose. Evidently I had either given him something to think about, or he was stroking my ego into thinking I had given him something to think about. Either way, Ralph, it made me feel as if I was growing in the game and in some small way, enticed me to continue playing. When I need a little inspiration at the table, I will think back on those moments I made you reach for your glasses!

Jean Molnar

I will really miss Ralph’s smiling face at the bridge table. I also worked with him closely when he was Tournament Manager for the San Diego Sectionals. He was the best! And, of course, the tournaments will never be the same without Ralph’s famous cookies.

Stephanie Rake

Ralph was a great guy. I only knew him thru bridge, but always liked his humor and his commitment to Juli and his family, especially his great granddaughter. He was taken too soon.

Nira Levy

I met Ralph many years ago at the Cove Bridge club in La Jolla when I was a beginner bridge player at that time. He invited me to his home to play, and I considered this a kind gesture. Automatically I felt the hospitality and warmth that came from him. This made it so easy to become instant friends, making anyone who came into his house feel very special. I know many will miss this humble and intelligent person, all that were lucky enough to know him must feel a little emptiness now that he is gone. I am lucky to have spent the many years enjoying his company.

John Neville

Ralph was a genuine gem. It seems that he invented the concept of proactive empathy: he constantly envisioned the needs of others, and then made sure those needs were met. Both his wit and knowledge of the nuances of the English language are legendary among the Tuesday night bridge group he hosted and alliteratively dubbed “Baty’s Bridge Bunch.”

Although I hate phone conversations, I enjoyed long phone chats with Ralph. His sense of humor and brilliant mind made it a pleasure to solve with him double-dummy bridge problems and explore innovative bidding concepts. As much as I’ll miss all the tournament and home bridge I played both with and against him, I’ll miss Ralph the man so much more.

Marty Freer

Ralph has been my friend for more than twenty years. Ralph was one of the most kind, helpful and gentle souls I have ever known. If someone or some group needed help, Ralph was the “go to guy” to offer his special brand of compassionate wisdom. We feel a great loss for someone we all cared about so much and who genuinely cared about us. Our heart and prayers go out to Julie, his loving partner, his children, grand children, great grand children and his many, many friends. Ralph has left us with an amazing legacy of love and caring. Ralph will remain in our hearts. Until our spirits reunite… We will miss you Ralph.

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Biography

Ralph Farrand Baty, 70, of San Diego, died Wednesday, June 25, 2014, after a brief battle with lung cancer at Scripps Memorial Hospital. He was surrounded by loving family and his longtime partner.

Ralph was born in New Jersey to Joe and Ann Baty and grew up in Weston Ohio with his brothers George and Bruce. He attended Otsego High School where he was on the track team and lettered in both football and basketball. Blind in one eye from birth, the basketball letter was probably awarded for keeping the team's statistics! He was a member of the National Honor Society, the Wood County Amateur Radio Club and was an Eagle Scout. Ralph completed his undergraduate studies at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), and two Masters of Science degrees from Michigan State University, with additional advanced studies at BGSU.

Early in his career, physicists were not in high demand in the U.S., so Ralph taught math and physics, first in the German public schools, and later in the U.S. He had a long career in the defense industry as a computer scientist and senior security analyst. He worked all over the country and in Europe, did a gravity research project on a Liberty Ship, and finally worked for SAIC in San Diego where he retired.

Ralph was an avid games player all of his life. He was a member of American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and was a Silver Life Master, playing several times a week with a variety of bridge partners and teams. Even so, his motto was “The first rule of bridge is to have fun!” He held a weekly non-sanctioned duplicate bridge game in his home for over 25 years. Initially formed to teach one friend how to play the game, it developed into a friendly competition among a large group of up to 5 tables (20 players) at a time, where individual standings were tracked quarterly and annually. He served as tournament chair for the local ACBL Unit 539, running two tournaments and a holiday party and game each year.

He shared his love of gaming and continuous learning with his friends, family, and even new acquaintances, encouraging them to learn new games. He was a member of several games groups that met in private homes monthly. Ralph was well known for his patience and for making the learning experience more comfortable and fun, regardless of the complexity or simplicity of the game. While he enjoyed winning, he loved to play word games with “friendly rules” — where there is no penalty for a misspelling or for trying a word that was challenged. He felt that reading a definition and talking about a word should be a part of the enjoyment of the game instead of a penalty for a player. Ralph would simplify game rules for young players, or increase the difficulty to heighten the challenge of a simple game such as Boggle.

He was a member of Mensa, the San Diego Zoological society, the Birch Aquarium, the Natural History Museum, The Reuben H Fleet Science Center, and a season ticket holder of long-standing at the Old Globe and the North Coast Repertory Theaters.

Family was extremely important to Ralph. He is survived by two sons, Gabriel of Albany CA and Arden of Ankeny, IA, his grandchildren Khrystalle, Trae, Harley, Augusta, and Vivianna, his great-grandchildren Loralei and Alex, his long-time partner Juli (Julianne) Ricksecker, and his brothers, George Baty of Weston, OH, and Bruce Baty of Missoula, MT. A Celebration of Life will be held on July 19th at Adventures in Bridge, at 5 p.m. Please see www.forevermissed.com/ralph-baty for details. He will be greatly missed.

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