Ralph Rucker Collection Fixed Price Pt II

pursued Archaeology from The University of Tulsa. He was just shy of his Masters in this field by an itty bitty thesis – he achieved his objective and wasn’t fond of institutional measurements... even Ralph was susceptible to academic fatigue. Or more likely, he was less enamored with institutional titles and just ready to move on to his next obsession.

He continued his love affair with history, especially American history, and amassed a decent collection of paper currency from the Civil War era in addition to his Early Cents. He was an avid gardener and worked hard at tending his massive garden. He could coax anything delicious from the ground; he even designed a swing-gated chicken coop to encircle his garden in an organic attempt at pest control and fertilization. His coin collecting, which had always been simmering in the background, was once again invigorated in 2005 by the rather sudden acquisition of the elusive S-79 Sheldon cent. The possibility of a

complete collection was within his grasp and he became even more intense about his Large Cents. The ranch life was often punctuated by numerous trips to EAC shows, social gatherings and dealer meetings for Ralph and Sherry. Ralph and his ‘bride,’ as he always called her, were partners in crime and ever on the move during these later years. In 2018, Ralph succumbed to complications from metastatic melanoma. And even then, his eldest son fondly remembers a moment: while at MD Anderson Center awaiting an appointment, Ralph was avidly discussing the newest coin he had been eyeing. It was truly his life-long passion.

Although the list of his adventures and accomplishments is long, the soul of Ralph was his family. His most important titles were “Dad” and “Papaw.” Clearly, he was a man of convictions and attacked life with a single-minded purpose; and his true purpose was his family. The love of his life was always Sherry, and they built a family and a wonderful life together. As trite as it sounds, his four children and eleven grandchildren were his pride and joy. He was never the type of man to neglect his family for career nor anything else. Indeed, his family and his children were an integral

part of all that he did. Even when his children were young and he was at the height of his career, he would come home after work and spend hours gardening with us. His children were a fixture during coin shows. A favorite pastime was packing us all up and head out to a Hemet camping trip with all four kids and friends in tow. He was active in all of our sports and Ralph and Sherry never missed matches nor meets nor games. He expected us to always ‘do your best.’ Always. In everything. He emphasized academic achievement, honesty and loyalty. Even as his children moved onto college and were experiencing the usual (expensive) growing pains, his second-eldest son remembers him