Ralph Freestone

Ralph Harold Freestone

aka Ned Wrecker and Uncle Grumpy

10/21/1958 – 11/13/2017

Our very precious, incredibly talented, ridiculously good looking and total badass Husband, Father, Brother, Grandfather, Cousin, Uncle and Friend passed away peacefully surrounded by his very loving family on Monday, November 13 ^th , 2017 after a long and courageous battle with heart failure.

“Ralphie” was born October 21 ^st 1958 in Provo, Utah to very proud and adoring parents, Harold Don and LaRue Lewis Freestone. Dad has two very cool and equally awesome brothers, Steve and Doug (who is very sorry for shooting Dad with a BB gun that one time when they were kids), and his beautiful, sweet and protective “favorite sister”, Rinda.

Dad met Delores Rose Reid (who is a total babe- go Dad!!) in 1976. They fell in love and were married on October 27th 1978. Mom knew from the moment she met Dad that he was her forever soul mate. Dad knew Mom was his as well. Our parents were later sealed for time and all eternity on March 21 ^st 1991 in the Jordan River Temple. Their lives were further blessed with the births of their four above average looking children, Jeremy Lee, Rinda Janae, Andrea Nicole and Valerie Megan (wink-wink).

If you asked Dad what his greatest accomplishment in life would be, he would have said without hesitation, being a husband, father and grandpa. We couldn’t agree more- honestly, he was a damn legend!

Our Dad had an amazing work ethic; he went above and beyond to provide his family with a very happy and comfortable life. He joined the Army National Guard in 1976 and was honorably discharged after 20 years of service. He was a welder and machinist most of his career at Prime Machine in Salt Lake City, Utah where he formed many strong and lasting friendships.

Dad was the most creative and hilarious person any of us have ever known; he was a self-taught songwriter and musician and recorded many of his beautiful songs, our favorite being “Lotus”, a song he wrote for his sweetheart. (But for reals, you need to hear the Bird Turd song- ask Dad’s favorite sister if she’ll play it for you!) In Dad’s final years, he discovered his true passion and purpose in life and that was spreading joy and love to as many people as he possibly could through his brilliant metal sculptures. Each creation is unique, has a little bit of Dad’s wicked sense of humor and more importantly, his beautiful and brilliant imagination. We are pretty sure that Dad’s only regret is that he didn’t discover this passion sooner and reach more people. We are also quite certain that Dad is learning to fly and giving those tired pearly gates a pretty rad makeover right now, complete with dragons, crabs and butterflies! We honestly can’t wait to see Dad standing next to them, with his beaming smile, proud of his work!

Grandpa is sure going to be missed by his five ridiculously good looking grandchildren (they get it from their grandparents, obviously) Skyler Jack, Austin Robbie, Jamison Todd, Isabella Taylor and Rosslyn Sage. Being a grandpa and grandma has brought an enormous amount of joy to Dad and Mom and we couldn’t have imagined more amazing grandparents for our babies.

Dad was greeted in heaven by many beloved friends, family and pets that are undoubtedly having the most amazing reunion complete with karaoke and Dad’s hilarious stories and jokes.

Dad leaves behind his wife, children, grandchildren, brothers, sister, “baby kitty”, and many other family members and friends who are completely heartbroken by his unexpected departure from this life on earth.

Our family would like to express our deepest love and gratitude for all of the wonderful, caring and compassionate doctors, nurses, assistants, techs and volunteers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah. They gave us a wonderful 18 months with our beloved Dad that we will always cherish. He loved all of you so very much and we will never forget your efforts to save our Dad’s life. We love you.

An open house Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, November 18 ^th 2017 at the Webster Center located at 8952 W 2700 S in Magna, Utah from 4:00 – 7:00 pm. A potluck dinner will be provided, please dress casual. If you have a sculpture that Dad made for you, we ask that you bring it with you and share your favorite memory of our precious Dad.

Dad, we are going to miss the hell out of you, those sparkly blue eyes, bear hugs and all of the laughter your beautiful soul brought to our lives.

Wish you were here, we look forward to seeing you in the great gig in the sky.