Ralph Edwin Oberly's Obituary
Ralph Edwin Oberly, age 85, of Chesapeake, OH, passed away on June 13, 2026. Born on February 13, 1941, in Columbus, Ohio, Ralph was a son of the late Paul A. and Anna Evelyn (Morgan) Oberly. Ralph leaves behind his wife, Maryanne Graham; his children from his previous marriage, Liesl of Chesapeake, Ohio, and Todd (Tracy Walker) of Sunbury, Ohio; and his children with Maryanne, Graham (Tonni) of Urbana, Ohio, and Morgan (Michael Gann) of Haubstadt, Indiana. He was preceded in death by his brother Charles E. Oberly and sister-in-law Beverly May (Bull) Oberly. Ralph was a graduate of Graham High School. He then attended The Ohio State University, earning a bachelor’s and Ph.D. in Physics. He spent his years cheering on the Ohio State Buckeyes, especially the marching band. Ralph became a professor at Marshall University in 1970 where he remained for his career, retiring in 2019. He taught Optics and Electronics in the Physics Department. For two summers, he was a NASA Summer Faculty Fellow at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, learning holography which he then taught to thousands of students. He spent four summers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio working on spectroscopy projects. He was awarded a Fulbright Exchange Teaching Fellowship and spent the 1975-1976 academic year in Cambridge, England teaching at what is now Anglia Ruskin University. Ralph loved to connect with students and was a passionate teacher. He spent over 20 summers teaching a Directed Study of Holography at the National Youth Science Camp in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. He was a judge for many local high school science fairs and a merit badge counselor for the Scout Merit Badge College at Marshall University. He was a dedicated father, attending sporting, scout, and band events. His favorite days were spent listening to classical music or NPR, golfing, bird watching, and working on model railroads. He will be remembered for his dry sense of humor and his love of telling stories. While at Marshall, he enjoyed playing noon basketball with his colleagues. He was a member of New Hope United Methodist Church for many years. Services will be held at Hall Funeral Home in Proctorville on Friday, June 19th with visitation to begin at noon and a service to follow at 2 pm. Interment will be Saturday, June 20th at 1:00 pm at Nettle Creek Cemetery, 1530 Ohio 560, Urbana, Ohio 43078. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Parkinson’s Foundation or the National Youth Science Camp.
https://www.parkinson.org/
https://nysf.networkforgood.com/
The family wishes to send a special thank you to the staff at Wyngate at RiversEdge for their care and compassion.
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