Ralph Paradis

RALPH HAROLD PARADIS
Aug. 3, 1940 - Sept. 19, 2016

Ralph Harold Paradis, 76, passed away peacefully at home on September 19, 2016, eleven years after first being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Born on August 3, 1940, in Winslow, Maine, to Romeo and Loretta King Paradis, he was the only boy in a family that eventually included five sisters. He attended Waterville High School, Waterville, Maine. He and Sandra Sweet married in 1961 and had two sons, Scott and Mark. They later divorced.

Ralph joined the Army National Guard in 1959. He attended ammunition and demolition school at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, and later attended blacksmithing school at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, where he graduated with honors in 1965. He pursued a career in structural ironworking and was a proud member of Ironworkers Shopmen's Local 516.

Ralph move to Portland, Oregon in 1967 where he first worked as a welder at the Portland shipyards on Swan Island. He later worked for Faught & Co. of Tigard on structural steel components for bridges and high-rise buildings. His entire career was spent in the structural steel industry and examples of his meticulous craft can be found throughout the extended Portland metropolitan area and beyond, including Salt Lake City, Utah, where he created components for a McGrath's Fish House being built in time for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Ralph was a 50-year plus member of Holbrook Masonic Lodge #30 AF&AM in Forest Grove where he served as Worshipful Master for two terms in the late 1980s. He was also a member of Al Kader Shrine.
Anyone who knew Ralph Paradis knew he loved to dance! He also enjoyed classic country/western music. He often said that once he learned to do the Texas Two-step a new world opened up to him, giving him a boost of self-confidence. During Labor Day weekend in 2000 he met Sally Vog Baucom at a Two-step dance class at Bushwhackers Saloon & Dance Club in Tualatin. They married in 2003 and enjoyed many friendships and travel opportunities with their Western dance friends.
Sally was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2003; Ralph was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2005. They lovingly helped each other endure numerous treatments and surgeries. Sally died in 2008 but not before researching and locating superior medical care for her beloved Ralph.
Coincidentally, on Labor Day weekend 2011 Ralph met his long-time partner Carol A. Hendrickson at Bushwhackers and another exciting phase of life and dancing began. Together they became involved with Portland Dance Eclectic and enjoyed many new friendships, Connect to Dance cross-step waltz classes, and social activities. Ralph was admired for being an excellent lead and always had a huge smile on his face the second he hit the dance floor. Women flocked to ask him to save a dance for them!
Ralph's cancer remained in remission from 2005 until 2012 when he was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer and subsequently began an arduous regime of chemotherapy. In 2015 after three years of enduring chemo (with Carol by his side for every doctor appointment, every chemo appointment, every CT scan, and two life-threatening hospitalizations), sadly Ralph had to give up dancing.
In addition to their shared dance activities Ralph and Carol also enjoyed a great number of travel opportunities. He introduced her to Maine, Lake Tahoe, and Las Vegas casinos! She introduced him to San Antonio (where he was fascinated by the history of the Alamo), Yellowstone National Park, the magnificent mountains of her home state of Utah, and many parts of Alaska.
Carol Hendrickson and Ralph's extended family wish to thank the cadre of exceptional physicians (especially Dr. James Sohriakoff and Dr. Jay Andersen), and the many caring oncology nurses and other professionals involved in Ralph's long-term treatment before he transitioned to hospice. Once Ralph was placed on hospice in April 2016, Carol became his full-time devoted caretaker with the able assistance of and coaching by the staff of Care Partners Hospice & Palliative. Ralph especially enjoyed and appreciated Larry Raymond and Mitch Taylor, hospice volunteers, who kept him company many afternoons so Carol could attend to her part-time job at the Attic Institute of Arts & Letters in Portland.
Ralph was preceded in death by his sisters Joyce Paradis, Joanna Wilbur and Cynthia Lee Crowell. Survivors include sons Scott H. Paradis of Clinton, Maine, and Mark A. Paradis of Forest Grove, Oregon, sisters Marie Paradis and Mary Lou Martin (husband Michael) of Winslow, Maine, granddaughters Sarah Gallagher, Felecia Paradis, Carrie Paradis, Shiana Paradis Phillips and Leah Paradis Mathison. He also had six great grandchildren and maintained a close relationship with Sally's daughter Kristie Baucom Opp and her children Nathan and Samantha of Gansevoort, New York.
Here's an idea -- listen to some classic country/western music in honor of Ralph -- or take a special someone dancing in his memory.
A "Celebration of Ralph" will be held at 3:00 pm on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center, 527 E. Main St., Hillsboro, OR 97123.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network ( www.pancan.org ) or Salvation Army.