Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

April 21, 2023

Ralph Lee Weddington, age 91, passed away peacefully on Friday April 21, 2023 with his loving wife, Mary Ellen, and his family by his side. Throughout his life, Ralph was a servant leader. He cared deeply and served selflessly, looking after and lending a hand to everyone with whom he crossed paths. He was a people person, never met a stranger, loved making connections on a personal level and enjoyed connecting people with one another.

Ralph was born in rural Rowan County, near China Grove, North Carolina on December 24, 1931 to Marion Butler Weddington and Elma Yost Weddington. He spent his early years growing up on the family farm and as a teenager carried much of the load following the death of his father. He graduated from Landis High School, where he was active in the Future Farmers of America. He went on to become president of the North Carolina FFA State Association during his senior year of high school in 1949-50. In this role he traveled across the state and to a national convention, allowing him to see life beyond Rowan County. One of Ralph’s early jobs was as a salesman for a John Deere dealership in Salisbury, North Carolina selling farm equipment and tractors.

Ralph served in the U.S. Army, as a Platoon Sergeant training soldiers at Army bases in Alabama and Georgia. This leadership experience served him well in many other roles throughout his life. Following his service in the Army, Ralph attended Kings College in Charlotte, North Carolina and obtained an associate’s degree in business.

Ralph worked for NCR Corporation (previously known as National Cash Register Company) for 36 years and was a Senior Account Manager Financial Systems, selling financial processing systems to financial institutions. As sales was a natural calling for Ralph, he excelled, winning multiple national sales awards, including an award for being the top salesman in the country. These awards earned him numerous travel opportunities to destinations across North America and Europe. He retired at the age of 62.

While his professional accomplishments were many, Ralph would be the first to tell you that all of that was secondary to his commitment to his faith and his service to others. Ralph was a lifelong Lutheran and an active member of Christ Lutheran Church in Charlotte. Over the years, he held virtually every lay position in the church, serving on or leading any committee that existed, volunteering for any task that needed to be done, and working with every age group in the church. During retirement, Ralph and Mary Ellen were the travel directors for the JOY (Just Older Youth) Fellowship at Christ Lutheran. Ralph loved planning bus tours and trips for the JOY Fellowship members and thrived on choregraphing and managing the details that went into shepherding a group of 40-50 on these trips. Whether or not he held an official role, Ralph continued to be an evangelist for the church even into his final years.

In addition to his membership at Christ Lutheran Church, Ralph was a member of the Long Creek Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite, the Oasis Shrine Temple, the North Carolina Synod Board of Missions, Charlotte Area Lutheran Men, the St. James Male Chorus, and the NCR Retirees. Ralph volunteered as a train host aboard the Piedmont and Carolinian trains, riding the Amtrak rails to assist passengers with information about the routes, ground transportation and area attractions; but, most importantly, to share a smile and to connect with people. Having lived in the Sherwood Forest neighborhood for almost 60 years, many in the neighborhood affectionately called Ralph the Mayor of Sherwood Forest.

Ralph also maintained his connections with the Future Farmers of America by attending meetings and being a generous donor. In 2019, he was awarded the Honorary State FFA Degree. True to his roots as a country boy, Ralph loved gardening and enjoyed using a full size farm tractor to prepare a large community garden space for many of his neighbors.

Ralph is survived by his wife Mary Ellen, to whom he was married for over 64 years. He is also survived by his daughter, Melba Daniels and her husband, Eric; his son, Keith Weddington and his wife Laurie; his grandchildren Kate Weddington Baker and her husband David; Diana Daniels Knudsen and her husband, Stephen; Ellen Weddington; Wilson Daniels and his wife, Katharine; and Anna Weddington; his great grandchildren, Daniel Baker, Lucy Baker, Maisie Knudsen and Luke Daniels. Ralph is also survived by his sister, Mary Frances Hough, and dozens of nieces and nephews. Ralph was predeceased by his parents and his siblings: Helen Suther, Butler Weddington, Ray Weddington, Carl Weddington, Kenneth Weddington, and Rachel Hunter. The family expresses their appreciation to the staff at Asbury Health and Rehabilitation Center for their devoted care to Ralph over the past two months.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday May 6, 2023, at Christ Lutheran Church, 4519 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC, where Ralph and Mary Ellen have been long-time members. The family will receive friends following the service at the church.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be offered in memory of Ralph to the North Carolina Future Farmers of America Foundation in support of the NC FFA Center at White Lake, Campus Box 7654, Raleigh, NC 27695, or the Christ Lutheran Church Endowment Fund, 4519 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28226, Give Now (onrealm.org).

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