Getting to Know You: Ralph Thaman

Getting to Know You: Ralph Thaman

Ralph Thaman leads a truly remarkable, varied life.  He is a man of many interests, who has had an important impact on Ladue Chapel (LC).  Ralph has served LC on many committees as an elder and a deacon.  He was on the church’s search committee for its current pastor and currently is on its property committee. Ralph also has served on the property committee for the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy.  Ralph’s faith has been a constant throughout his life, whether working as a senior executive for one of the world’s premier corporations or helping others through service on boards of numerous national and local civic and charitable organizations.  These include Eden Seminary (board president); the United Way of Greater St. Louis (chairman); the Episcopal-Presbyterian Foundation and St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors.

One of five children, Ralph grew up in St. Louis and graduated from Maplewood High School.  After completing a five-year collegiate engineering program, he began working for Wagner Electric.  He joined the Army Reserves, married Sharon Ploudre, had two children, and soon began a 30- year career for Anheuser-Busch (A-B), eventually becoming responsible for all facilities operations for the beer maker.  He loved working at the brewery.  “I had thirty years of fun!”, he says.  The fun included eight moves for the company.  Their last move back to St. Louis charged him with modernizing all brewery operations.  After retiring in 1992 from A-B, he joined Washington University in St. Louis to reorganize its facility operations, overseeing the construction of 34 buildings while there.  A three-to-five-year commitment turned into 18 years.  His second “retirement” began in 2012.

While raising his children and building his career, Ralph found time to attend Andover-Newton Seminary in Boston and is a licensed lay pastor.  He has preached in 3 states and in England.  He also was able to nurture his love of model trains, bowling, and singing.  He and Sharon both participated in choirs at every church that they attended over 65 years of marriage.  The pair became members at Ladue Chapel over 25 years ago after Sharon worked as a secretary for former LC minister Don Howland.  They joined the Ladue Chapel choir immediately and Ralph still sings in it today.

Ralph even formed a 65-member choir for Anheuser-Busch and led them on an extensive European tour that included performances at the Ambassador’s home in Ireland, the Guiness brewery and the Versailles Palace and Chartres Cathedral in Paris.

Ralph and Sharon also loved to bowl and were in coed leagues most of their married life. And Ralph had a passion for model trains.  He built a 20’ x 20’ model train set-up in the basement of their Kirkwood and Ladue homes.  The extensive town included exact replicas of the Kirkwood train station, their former Kirkwood home, and other city landmarks.

Today, Ralph enjoys lakeside living at Cape Albeon in Valley Park.  He and Sharon moved to the senior living community before she passed away last fall.  Ralph sold his beloved model trains, but now enjoys a new addiction to jigsaw puzzles.   He likes challenging himself to complete 1500-piece puzzles in his lovely apartment.   He enjoys spending time with his adult children and seven grandchildren and, in addition to singing in the church choir, he bowls twice a week in a senior league. And he enjoys caring for his loyal dog, Lulu, an energetic West Highland terrier.   For him, Cape Albeon is like coming home.  He knows every nook and cranny because, to no one’s surprise, he oversaw ITS construction, too!