Ralph L. Schraven

Ralph Lee Schraven, 63, of Fond du Lac, passed onto heaven peacefully on Thursday, November 11, 2010 surrounded by his loving family after an 11-month battle with bladder cancer. Ralph was born on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1947, at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac to Myron and Kathleen Schraven.On September 1, 1973, Ralph married the love of his life, Audrey Holzmann, in Mt. Calvary, Wisconsin. They celebrated their special day in the holy land surrounded by over 500 of their dearest friends and family.Ralph was a proud graduate of St. Lawrence Seminary, class of 1965. He then earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy with a Minor in Education in 1970 from Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, IN. In 1971, Ralph began his service as Sergeant in the United States Air Force at Ft. Eustis, VA. During this time, he was responsible for the maintenance and repair of Air Weather Service equipment and as supervisor, responsible for the work center operations in accordance with Air Force standards. He also completed many technical and leadership certificates. Ralph earned his honorable discharge in 1977. In 1975, Ralph and Audrey returned from Virginia back to their roots in Wisconsin. Ralph then worked for three years as a laboratory tester and equipment operator at the Wastewater Treatment Plan in Fond du Lac. In 1979, Ralph began his 30 year career in cable television where he served in various roles as a technician, engineer and most recently in information systems. He retired from Charter Communications on December 4, 2009. Ralph's life was centered on family. He loved spending time with his children, grandchildren, sisters, other relatives and special friends. He enjoyed traveling, especially to Door County, Mexico and Arizona with friends and to San Diego to visit his son, Ted and daughter-in-law, Ruth. Ralph took great pride in keeping his yard and garden absolutely perfect. He also had a passion for family history and found much joy in researching his ancestors by building a large family tree dating back several generations. Ralph was an avid Badger fan and took every opportunity to travel to Madison for football tailgating, games and his favorite part "“ the 5th quarter. Ralph was the most organized, practical and methodical person known by his friends and family. He was extremely smart and knew something about everything. His wisdom and humor will be greatly missed by the many, many lives he touched over his short 63 years.Ralph is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Audrey; two sons, Ted (Ruth) of San Diego, CA, and Joe of Madison; one daughter, Amy (Brett) Davis of Oregon, WI; three grandchildren, Will, Audrey and Sam Davis; two sisters, Donna Noller of Fond du Lac, Mary (Dick) Zoch of Escanaba, MI; three brothers-in-law, Tom (Linda) Holzmann of St. Cloud, Tim (Linda) Holzmann of Fond du Lac and Terry (Jennifer) Holzmann of Fond du Lac; one sister-in-law, Patty (Robb) DeGraff of Bayside; aunts Mary Coon and Patricia Bednarek of Menomonee Falls, Genevieve Stratz of Fond du Lac, Joyce Hoch of Ripon; uncle Dale (JoAnn) Stratz of Fond du Lac and many wonderful nieces, nephews, other relatives and special friends.He was preceded in death by his parents, Myron and Kathleen Schraven, his in-laws, Ralph and Lucille Holzmann, brother-in-law, Wayne Noller, sister-in-law, Beverly Holzmann, and numerous aunts and uncles.The family would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to so many wonderful friends and neighbors who have helped with yard work, snow removal, transportation to chemotherapy appointments and meals provided over the past year. A special thank you to St. Agnes Homecareand Home Infusion for all of their assistance over the past several months and to St. Agnes Hospice for the past two weeks of incredible care.In lieu of flowers, you may direct donations to the family, which will be used for contributions to St. Agnes Homecare and Hospice and also to fund bladder cancer research and treatment.Hope is not the certainty of a good outcome. Hope is the belief that life and death have meaning.



ServicesA service to celebrate Ralph's life will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, November 15, 2010 at Holy Family Parish, 271 Fourth Street Way, Fond du Lac. The Rev. Michael Bertram will officiate.VisitationRalph's family will receive relatives and friends on Sunday from 3-8 p.m. at Uecker-Witt Funeral Home, 524 N. Park Avenue, Fond du Lac. Visitation at the church on Monday will be from 10 to 11 AM. A private family burial will be held at a later date.