Obituary for Ralph Donofrio
Ralph Donofrio charmed every person he met, and seemed to make us all laugh out loud. Despite telling and re-telling his stories of adventure, we were always transfixed by the way he recounted his love of music, famous artists, sports, and being a dad. It didn’t seem to matter if it was the first or hundredth time you heard one of Ralph’s stories, his sense of mischief, approach to living life to its fullest (and on his own terms), always engaged those around him.
Ralph was born in the Roncesvalles area of Toronto in 1949. In his teenage years, he studied at Parkdale Collegiate and worked part-time at Maple Leaf Gardens selling ice cream cones. His work had many perks – not the least of which was being able to see all six Beatles performances from 1964-1966.
Coming of age in the city of Toronto also coincided with the height of the hippie-era in Yorkville, where he frequented coffeehouses and concert venues. During that time, he saw some of the great artists of the 20th century, including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Leonard Cohen.
Saturated with all that Toronto had to offer, Ralph made his way to Vancouver in the summer of 1977. Once settled in his new city, his trademark charm wooed his future wife, Lorraine Scobie, who, barefooted, towered over her husband by nearly 7 inches. For their wedding portraits, Ralph stood on three phone books just to balance the shot!
Ralph’s love of music infused the Donofrios life as newlyweds; in the first few years of marriage, the pair travelled to Los Angeles regularly to catch the live concerts of David Bowie, Duran Duran and Tina Turner.
In 1982 and 1987, Ralph and Lorraine welcomed daughters Sarah and Regan. After Lorraine’s sudden passing in 1989, Ralph stepped up to the role of single father, and did so with his characteristic enthusiasm. Ralph triumphed as a single parent; he routinely took his girls on camping and fishing trips; imparted his love for the arts by insisting on guitar and art lessons, and countless trips to live concerts; and never missed the opportunity to celebrate a special occasion – including spoiling (embarrassing!) his girls with massive bouquets of Valentine’s Day flowers sent to their classrooms every year. Ralph also passed on his natural poise, good manners, and sense of pride; at parent teacher meetings and school events, Ralph would show up looking sharp, and always wearing a sports jacket.
Despite his own limited formal education, Ralph was determined that his girls pursue academic excellence and was adamant that the average grade for the household could not be anything less than a B+. He threw himself into supporting his children’s school projects, getting the biggest pieces of posterboard, and seeing that there was no shortage of glitter to use in assignments.
No tribute to Ralph would be complete without a nod to his fanatic passion for sports. He was a legendary slowpitch shortstop, wearing a number six jersey throughout his amateur career. A lifelong Red Wings fan, he proudly displayed his “Original Six” jersey in the centre of the house as if it were an original Picasso painting. He was a Blue Jays fan all throughout the franchise history, and came to love basketball when Toronto’s Raptors became a part of the NBA in 1995. In the 2010s, when Ralph gained an American son-in-law, he developed a passion for the 49ers, never missing a televised game from that point on. To Ralph’s delight, he got to see each of his teams win their respective championships throughout his lifetime.
Ralph faced a series of challenges and hardships throughout his life, but managed to keep focused on the all good things, and maintained a positive outlook and generous spirit. His thirty years as a HandiDART driver in Vancouver exemplified how Ralph would cheerfully help others. For years at HandiDART, he empowered those with disabilities, and the elderly, to lead more independent lives by providing them with reliable transportation.
A decade ago, Ralph suffered a stroke, and maintained an independent and joyful life of his own for many years, in spite of his physical limitations. From the beginning of 2022 Ralph struggled with a series of new health challenges that brought him to Royal Columbian Hospital for several weeks. Of course, he charmed his incredible team of doctors and nurses with his relentless sense of humour. To the end, Ralph remained Ralph: he was a social butterfly, cracking jokes, telling familiar stories, cranking the music, and playing sports constantly on the nearby TV. His final days were spent chatting with family on FaceTime, and enjoying in-person visits.
Ralph Donofrio died peacefully on April 11, 2022 after listening to Beatles songs played for him by his daughter Sarah at his bedside.
Everybody's laughing
Everybody's happy
Here come the sun king
For everyone reading, remember: hug your dad, if you can.
Ralph is predeceased by his wife Lorraine, mother Gwen (Lucy), father Fred, sister Phyllis, cousin Marshall, Auntie Kay (Lucy) and his adored Grandma Olive Watson. He is survived by his daughters Sarah (Brandon Bickford) and Regan, brothers Chris Gruenwald (Trish) and Stefan Gruenwald (Karen), niece Aleigh, and his extended family in Ontario as well as countless friends across North America. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date, please visit www.burquitlamfuneralhome.ca for condolences and updates on the memorial. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made on Ralph’s behalf to Ralph’s behalf to Meals on Wheels or Diabetes Canada.
Meals on Wheels: https://pocomomealsonwheels.com/
Diabetes Canada: https://crm2.diabetes.ca/site/Donation2?df_id=2841&mfc_pref=T&2841.donation=form1&s_promoCode=categorythree&set.DonationLevel=4261&set.Value=7500&set.ShowHonorFields=false7040353-dummyclientid
Ralph was born in the Roncesvalles area of Toronto in 1949. In his teenage years, he studied at Parkdale Collegiate and worked part-time at Maple Leaf Gardens selling ice cream cones. His work had many perks – not the least of which was being able to see all six Beatles performances from 1964-1966.
Coming of age in the city of Toronto also coincided with the height of the hippie-era in Yorkville, where he frequented coffeehouses and concert venues. During that time, he saw some of the great artists of the 20th century, including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Leonard Cohen.
Saturated with all that Toronto had to offer, Ralph made his way to Vancouver in the summer of 1977. Once settled in his new city, his trademark charm wooed his future wife, Lorraine Scobie, who, barefooted, towered over her husband by nearly 7 inches. For their wedding portraits, Ralph stood on three phone books just to balance the shot!
Ralph’s love of music infused the Donofrios life as newlyweds; in the first few years of marriage, the pair travelled to Los Angeles regularly to catch the live concerts of David Bowie, Duran Duran and Tina Turner.
In 1982 and 1987, Ralph and Lorraine welcomed daughters Sarah and Regan. After Lorraine’s sudden passing in 1989, Ralph stepped up to the role of single father, and did so with his characteristic enthusiasm. Ralph triumphed as a single parent; he routinely took his girls on camping and fishing trips; imparted his love for the arts by insisting on guitar and art lessons, and countless trips to live concerts; and never missed the opportunity to celebrate a special occasion – including spoiling (embarrassing!) his girls with massive bouquets of Valentine’s Day flowers sent to their classrooms every year. Ralph also passed on his natural poise, good manners, and sense of pride; at parent teacher meetings and school events, Ralph would show up looking sharp, and always wearing a sports jacket.
Despite his own limited formal education, Ralph was determined that his girls pursue academic excellence and was adamant that the average grade for the household could not be anything less than a B+. He threw himself into supporting his children’s school projects, getting the biggest pieces of posterboard, and seeing that there was no shortage of glitter to use in assignments.
No tribute to Ralph would be complete without a nod to his fanatic passion for sports. He was a legendary slowpitch shortstop, wearing a number six jersey throughout his amateur career. A lifelong Red Wings fan, he proudly displayed his “Original Six” jersey in the centre of the house as if it were an original Picasso painting. He was a Blue Jays fan all throughout the franchise history, and came to love basketball when Toronto’s Raptors became a part of the NBA in 1995. In the 2010s, when Ralph gained an American son-in-law, he developed a passion for the 49ers, never missing a televised game from that point on. To Ralph’s delight, he got to see each of his teams win their respective championships throughout his lifetime.
Ralph faced a series of challenges and hardships throughout his life, but managed to keep focused on the all good things, and maintained a positive outlook and generous spirit. His thirty years as a HandiDART driver in Vancouver exemplified how Ralph would cheerfully help others. For years at HandiDART, he empowered those with disabilities, and the elderly, to lead more independent lives by providing them with reliable transportation.
A decade ago, Ralph suffered a stroke, and maintained an independent and joyful life of his own for many years, in spite of his physical limitations. From the beginning of 2022 Ralph struggled with a series of new health challenges that brought him to Royal Columbian Hospital for several weeks. Of course, he charmed his incredible team of doctors and nurses with his relentless sense of humour. To the end, Ralph remained Ralph: he was a social butterfly, cracking jokes, telling familiar stories, cranking the music, and playing sports constantly on the nearby TV. His final days were spent chatting with family on FaceTime, and enjoying in-person visits.
Ralph Donofrio died peacefully on April 11, 2022 after listening to Beatles songs played for him by his daughter Sarah at his bedside.
Everybody's laughing
Everybody's happy
Here come the sun king
For everyone reading, remember: hug your dad, if you can.
Ralph is predeceased by his wife Lorraine, mother Gwen (Lucy), father Fred, sister Phyllis, cousin Marshall, Auntie Kay (Lucy) and his adored Grandma Olive Watson. He is survived by his daughters Sarah (Brandon Bickford) and Regan, brothers Chris Gruenwald (Trish) and Stefan Gruenwald (Karen), niece Aleigh, and his extended family in Ontario as well as countless friends across North America. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date, please visit www.burquitlamfuneralhome.ca for condolences and updates on the memorial. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made on Ralph’s behalf to Ralph’s behalf to Meals on Wheels or Diabetes Canada.
Meals on Wheels: https://pocomomealsonwheels.com/
Diabetes Canada: https://crm2.diabetes.ca/site/Donation2?df_id=2841&mfc_pref=T&2841.donation=form1&s_promoCode=categorythree&set.DonationLevel=4261&set.Value=7500&set.ShowHonorFields=false7040353-dummyclientid