A courageously funny teacher and family man
Dennis Fraser Ralph, a teacher who helped launch the careers of many in hotel and restaurant management, died peacefully, July 3, 2023 at his home in Barrie, Ontario, with his loving wife Evelyn and daughters, Christine and Susanne at his side. He was 81 years of age.
Dennis passed away after a relatively brief bout with pancreatic cancer that had gone undetected for a length of time.
As a close friend said of Dennis, his death will bring sadness to the campus of Georgian College in Barrie where Dennis was a teacher and professor for 35 years until his retirement in 2005. As well, his passing will be mourned by many across the country and beyond where graduates of Dennis’ courses in Georgian’s Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation program now fill key positions.
Over the years, Dennis, with his wife, Ev, visited many of these graduates in hotels and restaurants, both by plan and by coincidence, as they travelled on holiday trips by car through Canada and the United States, including journeys to visit daughter Christine and son Bradley in the southern and western United States.
‘Den’ was born in Winnipeg on July 28, 1942; the family moved, in 1944, to Long Branch, part of Toronto before amalgamation. The family lived on and near the lake for years before moving to the Islington area of Etobicoke. With his two brothers, Dennis attended James S. Bell Public School, New Toronto Secondary and Etobicoke Collegiate. He was active as a student, belonging to gymnastics, track and field and football teams and playing saxophone in a school dance band.
His boundless energy carried over to his college days at Ryerson, where he studied Hotel and Restaurant Management, and into his long career in the field. He was supported through his career by his wife Evelyn, his first and only love, whom he married in 1965.
Dennis’ vocational career began at the Westbury Hotel in Toronto followed by quick success as the manager of the Coach ‘N Four Dining Lounge operated by Diana Sweets Ltd. at the Don Mills Centre; he won praise from the company’s Vice President for ‘recovering the operation.’ Hired by the Holiday Inn chain, he managed hotels in Toronto, London and Barrie, Ontario.
Dennis welcomed an offer in 1970 to teach at Georgian College in Barrie, embarking on a long and rewarding career in education, first as an instructor, then coordinator of Hotel and Resort Operations. His program escalated from interactions with local business to expansive relationships with national corporations. By the time of his retirement, Georgian was known as Canada’s premier hospitality school and today hosts 13,000 students at seven campus locations.
Dennis and his family experienced the tornado that levelled a section of the city on May 31, 1985. His own home of the time received minor damage but Dennis sold it to acquire a heavily damaged house that he rebuilt to perfection with the help of friends in the building trades.
Dennis was a creative thinker and doer. His hobbies included creating models, cartooning, reading, golfing, dining and talking with friends, and emailing close friends and relatives, most of the time exchanging banter and jokes. Dennis also was fond of walking and playing with the family’s adored pets, Snooper, Temba, grand pup Ginny and Buddy the cat.
Dennis kept in constant touch with his brother, Gary, in Toronto. Dennis was the volunteer editor of Gary’s various novels, one of his well-known contributions of time and skill to family and friends. Gary said his brother Den was the funniest person he had ever known. “His emails should be burned because of their irreverence but enshrined for their side-splitting comedy.” Even his messages and personal chats about his cancer were flavoured with wry humour.
Dennis also mastered large picture puzzles in his last days after daughter Chris ‘hooked’ him on the pastime to take his mind off the cruel disease.
He will be in our hearts forever as the devoted husband, for 58 years, of Evelyn, and beloved father of Christine Lofquist (Bob), Sue and Brad. Brad passed away, in 2018, at the age of 48 in Barrie; his death was felt across the music industry where he was well-known in Canada and the United States. Dennis was also predeceased by his parents, James and Shirley Ralph, and brother Ken. Besides his wife and two daughters, Dennis leaves his brother, Gary, sister-in-law Sandi, sister-in-law Mary Carlson (Ken) and nieces and nephews.