Ralph D. Elam, 95, of Walshville, died at 3:15 p.m. on May 5, 2019, at Montgomery Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Hillsboro.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday evening, May 8, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Litchfield Family Funeral Service in Litchfield. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, May 9, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Walshville Baptist Church in Walshville with Pastor Oley Lawson officiating. Burial will be in Green Hill Cemetery near Van Burensburg.
Mr. Elam was born on April 8, 1924, in Vandalia, a son of the late James Rude and Susan Ethel (Hoyle) Elam. He married the former Retha Marie Devall on March 21, 1946, and she survives. The couple shared 73 years together.
A Baptist minister since 1962, Mr. Elam retired from Hano Business Forms in Mt. Olive in 1989, after working there for 25 years. A member of the Walshville Baptist Church in Walshville, he enjoyed woodworking and doing crafts.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Elam is survived by his children, Catherine E. (Alan) Titsworth of Chatham, Nora (Melvin) Fenton of Salem, MO and Rudy (Susan) Elam of Mt. Olive; 17 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, a son, Kerry Elam; daughter-in-law, Norma Elam; granddaughter, Romona, in infancy; and sisters, Erma Ellsworth, Edna Carey, Elsie Lowber, Ethel Norman and Elois Ballard.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the Walshville Baptist Church or Green Hill Cemetery.
