Ralph Gary McLearn

Ralph Gary McLearn 1910 - 1980
Ralph was the son of James McLearn of the storied McLearn family. And, James was the 13 year younger brother of Ed McLearn who built the magnificent McLearn building in 1902 at 3rd and Railroad.
Ralph was born July 22, 1910 in Rifle. He attended Rifle Schools graduating in the class of 1928. His class was the second to graduate in the two story new school finished in 1926 on north Railroad.
In his class photo, his picture is directly above the 1 of the year 1928 written on the photo.
Ralph then probably attended Colorado Agricultural College at Ft. Collins. The city directory in 1929 shows he lived at 230 West Magnolia, Ft. Collins. And, it lists him as a CAC student. In 1930 the census puts him back in Rifle at home.
A photo is attached to his record on Ancestry of the freshmen class in the Silver Spruce. And the Silver Spruce is the yearbook name at Ft. Collins.
His obituary says he attended the School of Mines in Golden. That may be a mistake. However, he did become a miner himself, and during his mining years, he worked in the Los Angeles area.
In 1934 he lived in Orange, California. Then in 1935 he lived in Azusa, California.
He married Angeline Allec in 1936 in California. She had a 7 year old son named Don. Her first husband, John Wiens, had died May 26, 1936. She and John had been married 10 years.
In 1940 Ralph and Angeline were living in Shasta, California. Did not find further information.
On December 7, 1941, Ralph was a civilian employee on a military contract working in Honolulu, Hawaii.
On August 12, 1951, he married Rosalie Urban in Glenwood Springs. She had turned 18 in July, he was 41. They made their home in Rifle and he went to work as a policeman.
His obituary says he worked for the Rifle Police department 11 years, approximately 1951 to 1962. Newspaper records report him to be Rifle City Marshall in 1953 and a policeman in 1955. He became Police Chief in 1957.
(Note Larry Allec was Police Chief 1968 to 1990. Probably followed by Daryl Meisner)
Ralph became police chief in Rangely for a year, then later was a security guard at Anvil Points.
He passed away Sunday November 23, 1980, at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction. He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.
His obituary lists daughters Janette, Rhonda, and Linda. And it lists sons Gary, Rodney, and James.

 

---