Ralph was born February 1, 1920, in Tacoma, WA and lived and helped on his Dad’s dairy farm in Orting. After graduating from Orting High School in 1937, he signed up for a correspondence course from Aero-Technical Institute in Glendale, CA, sponsored by Douglas/Lockheed airplane companies. In 1939, he attended a 3 month school for aluminum fabrication in Glendale, and was soon hired by Boeing in Seattle to make airplane parts. He took his first flying lesson from Bud Oswald in 1940 and soloed under his watchful eye on March 14, 1941, flying a 65 HP Taylorcraft, a high wing tail dragger, from Mueller-Harkins field, now the site of Clover Park Technical College.
On July 23, 1946, he married Jeanne Eggert in San Fernando, CA, while serving in the Army (1945-47). After the Army, they settled in Orting on his parents’ farm land. In order to make flying the family plane, a Stinson, more convenient a few pasture fences were lowered and moved to accommodate a grass airstrip. They began their family with the birth of their first daughter, Linda in 1947, followed by Juanita in 1949 and a son Gary in 1950.
After 16 years at Boeing, he quit and began operating a flight school, Tahoma Flying Service, at Thun Field, and later on his Dad’s farm in Orting. Finally in 1957 he and Jeanne moved the flight school with five airplanes to Spanaway Airport. Eventually he bought out his partner and he and Jeanne became the sole owners and operators of Spanaway Airport. It became quite a family affair with the whole family helping at the airport: gassing airplanes, answering the phone, mowing grass, and helping with scheduling students and keeping up Slim’s logbooks. Slim remained active, assisting his son Gary with the running of the airport until his death in 2009 at the age of 89.
Flying was Slim’s first love and he shared that excitement with all who met him. Through the years of instructing, he passed along that love to over 2,000 aspiring pilots. Slim acquired over 18,000 hours in the air and over 50 years as a flight instructor. He was also a FAA examiner for private, instrument, and commercial ratings from 1957-1980. Slim was a former Washington State Pilot of the Year and was a strong general aviation supporter, including the Experimental Aircraft Association Young Eagles program. In 2002 Slim was inducted into the Washington State Aviation Hall of Fame.