Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

May 3, 2023

Ralph Magee died peacefully with his sons by his side on May 3, 2023, at the Levine & Dickson Hospice House at Aldersgate in Charlotte, NC.

Ralph was born in Roanoke, VA on August 28, 1932, the son of Ralph Nathaniel and Ruby Ayers Magee. His father died when he was seven, and shortly thereafter he moved in with and was raised by his maternal grandparents, Leonard Ayers and Mary Napier Ayers, while his mother raised his older sisters, Mary Ann (Johnson) and Virginia (Garthright), both of whom predeceased him.

Flora Jo York captured Ralph’s heart on a blind date while she was in school at Longwood College. Jo was his loving wife for his remaining 67 years. Ralph is survived by Jo, who is in her sixth year in memory care at Cuthbertson Village at Aldersgate in Charlotte, and by his two sons, Mike and wife, Laura, and Rick and wife, Saundra, all of Charlotte. Ralph is also survived by five grandchildren, Jack and his wife, Liz, of Raleigh, Allison Woodward and her husband, Alex, of Atlanta, and Drew, Katie, and Anna, all of Charlotte, and by four great-grandsons, Miller, Reeder, James and Teddy.

Ralph graduated from Jefferson Senior High School in Roanoke in 1950 and from the College of William & Mary in 1954. He worked for the Norfolk & Western RR part-time and during summers while in high school and college. After college, Ralph served in the US Army, stationed at Ft. McPherson in Atlanta, where he played on the base’s highly successful and decorated traveling basketball team and where he and Jo started their family. After completing his active service commitment, Ralph moved from Atlanta back to Roanoke, where he began his career as a data analyst with Allstate Insurance Company and served in the Army Reserves. He and Jo and their two young sons were active at Windsor Hills Baptist Church in Roanoke.

The family’s next stop was Winston-Salem, NC. They moved there in 1963 when Ralph accepted a position with Integon Insurance Company. He spent the rest of his career there, ultimately as Senior Systems Analyst. In Winston, Ralph and his family were active members of Old Town Baptist Church, where he served as deacon and chair of the finance committee for many years. He and Jo also sang in the church choir and regularly “adopted” Wake Forest college students for their time away from their homes while in Winston. Ralph was active in the Old Town Lions Club and youth sports, serving as president of the Tiny Falcons Pop Warner football program and coaching Senior League baseball.

Ralph and Jo spent many of their retirement years splitting time between their retirement home (“Creeks’ End”) in the mountains at Fancy Gap, VA and their condo in the “Cross Creek” community in Ft. Myers, FL. In Florida, they were active at McGregor Baptist Church, singing in the senior choir and regularly attending the Ambassador Sunday School class, for which Ralph prepared and distributed a weekly class newsletter. Ralph was also president of the men’s 9-hole golf league at Cross Creek.

In 2014, Ralph and Jo began spending almost half their time each year in an independent living cottage at the Aldersgate retirement community in Charlotte to be closer to family, while continuing to spend winter and spring months in Ft Myers. Ralph moved within Aldersgate to assisted living in 2020 and to memory care at Aldersgate’s Cuthbertson Village later that year.

An avid sports fan, Ralph particularly loved the Boston Red Sox and Wake Forest basketball and football, and he enjoyed playing golf. He and Jo both loved making friends and spending time with them wherever they were, and they relished their time with family at the “Ocean Creek” beach condo they shared with church friends in North Myrtle Beach. At age 78, while vacationing there, Ralph had his only hole-in-one, witnessed by his two sons and grandson Drew.

A memorial service will be held in the Ray Hall Community Center/Chapel at Aldersgate, 3800 Shamrock Road, in Charlotte on Saturday, May 20 at 2:30 in the afternoon. The family will receive friends in the nearby “Living Room” following the service.

The family wishes to express their deep appreciation for the staff and caregivers both at Aldersgate’s Cuthbertson Village and at Aldersgate at Home. These wonderful people provided exceptional care and also became Ralph’s dear friends in his last years. Memorials may be offered in memory of Ralph to the Aldersgate Employee Christmas Fund, 3800 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC 28205.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.