Ralph A. Biggs, 89, Lincoln resident and WWII veteran, died on April 19, 2015. Ralph was the fourth of nine children born to Mabel (Hederman) and Al Biggs. The family lived for many years at the corner of North 12^th and Butler Streets in Lincoln’s Belmont district. Al operated a nearby auto mechanic shop on Cornhusker Hwy.

In 1943, during his senior year at Lincoln High, Ralph enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Trained as a Gunner’s Mate, he saw action in the Pacific on board a destroyer-escort and a landing ship dock. He was Honorably Discharged at war’s end in April, 1946. A few weeks before his discharge, still in uniform, he married Doris McQuown, of Lincoln. They eloped to Marysville, KS; Ralph, not yet 21, could not obtain a marriage license in Nebraska. Their marriage lasted 57 years; Doris passed away in July, 2003.

After their first child was born in 1947, Ralph and Doris moved to Wisconsin. Yet when they retired more than 40 years later, they came back to Lincoln. They raised four children: Carol Shepard of Lincoln; Daniel Biggs of Silver Spring, MD; Jerry Biggs of Baltimore MD; and Susan Steger of Allenton, WI.  Ralph would tell anyone who asked that his proudest achievement in life was “trying to make sure my kids grew up right.”  In recent years, Ralph resided at Gramercy Hill Senior Home in Lincoln, where he enjoyed the friendship, laughter, and Husker-mania of staff and residents.

Ralph is also survived by grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Robert Shepard III, Angel Shepard, Marcos Biggs, Alexandria Steger, Robert Steger, Ian Greco, Arabella Greco, Eric Dixon, and Mira Biggs; siblings Ivan Biggs and Irene Leech, both of Lincoln, and  brother Harold of Greenville, WI.

Preceded by grandson Thomas Dixon; and Emily Shepard.

No Public Services are planned; family and friends will gather in private to reminisce about Ralph’s loves and his impact on their lives. Condolences may be sent to: The Ralph Biggs family c/o Gramercy Hill, 6800 A Street, Lincoln NE 68510.