Ralph DeMarc

Ralph DeMarc was born in the small town of West Pittsburg, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, January 30, 1910. He was the second child born to Charles DeMarc and Mary (DeMatteo) DeMarc, both of whom immigrated to the United States in the early 1900’s from southern Italy and settled in western Pennsylvania. Ralph was most likely named after his paternal grandfather, Raffaele “Ralph” Di Marco.

Ralph, who spoke both English and Italian, grew up on Canal Street in West Pittsburg. The DeMarc’s lived in West Pittsburg when Ralph was born, but when they first moved to Canal Street (possibly about the time of Ralph’s birth) is unclear. The DeMarc family quickly grew in size until Ralph was one of ten siblings (another girl died young) by 1926 Ralph attended the West Pittsburg Consolidated School starting in the fall of 1917, at a time when the monumental “Great War” (later known as World War I) raged across Europe. During the 1921-1922 school year Ralph, in the fourth grade, was in a combined third and fourth grade class with his sisters Madeline and Josephine.

Ralph probably graduated from the eighth grade in May of 1925 when he was age fifteen. He did not attend high school and like many others found himself a job. I am guessing he probably worked in a garage or service station as the automobile craze was becoming more and more mainstream. Ralph had a love of the workings of modern machines and grew to become a brilliant automobile mechanic. As a teenager he had a car, made by the Overland Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, when few people his age had such a luxury. My uncle Charlie DeMarc (Ralph’s brother), who was born in July 1926, has told me he remembers Ralph giving him a ride in his car when he was a mere youngster.

Ralph was very good looking and was extremely popular with the girls. He had several girlfriends and his mother Mary would often sit on the back porch and wait for him to come home at night across the West Pittsburg Bridge. There are rumors that Ralph may have gotten married when he was seventeen or eighteen, but I have found no evidence to support this.

In early April 1928, when he was eighteen years old, Ralph grew ill from pneumonia. He was admitted to the New Castle Hospital on April 15, but unfortunately died a few days later at 5:30am on April 19. His death certificate lists his official cause of death as “Septicemia,” a life-threatening blood infection that causes fever, chills, rapid breathing, and a rapid heart rate. Pneumonia is listed as a contributing factor in his death.

I think the preceding events reveal that the DeMarc’s were a poor family at this time. Marshall Funeral Home in Wampum graciously agreed to pay for the $300 funeral. Ralph’s brother Lou made sure he never forgot that and in the early 1940’s he paid Marshall’s back in full. The family also had issues with St. Vitus Catholic Church, where Charles and Mary DeMarc were married and where the family attended service on a regular basis. The story goes that Reverend Father Nicholas DeMita refused about (or at least balked at) providing a High Mass for Ralph, because he said the DeMarc family had not contributed enough donation money to the church. Ralph’s mother Mary was furious and stopped attending church service after this. I have also heard that the reason for this snub was that DeMita was unhappy because he believed Ralph was married outside the church (but once again I do not think this is true).

A mass of some sort was held for Ralph at St. Vitus at 9:00am on Saturday, April 21. Afterwards he was interred in St. Vitus Cemetery out in Shenango Township, where years later his parents and brothers Lou and George would also be buried. Ralph left behind his parents and nine brothers and sisters. His death ended what seemed to be a promising life ahead for the handsome youth.