Ralph French

Mr. Ralph B. French, 84, of Cartersville, passed away Sunday, July 29, 2012, at Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Georgia. He was born on June 6, 1928 in Calhoun. He is preceded in death by his wife, Alice Pate French.
At thirteen years of age he was selected as the School Boy Patrol of the Year and awarded a State Patrol trip to Washington, D.C. After graduation from Calhoun High School he attended West Georgia College. In 1953 the family moved to Cartersville and he became manager of Pate's 5 and 10 cent Store that later became the first self service store in Cartersville. The family began a 50 year relationship with Cartersville First Baptist Church where he served as Deacon, Sunday School and Training Union Teacher, and Training Union Director. During this time he was an active member of the Cartersville Chamber of Commerce, The Rotary Club, Bartow Commissioners of Boy Scouts and Cartersville High School Athletic Booster Club. In 1965 he and his wife, Alice, formed Diamond Carpets. Ralph enjoyed recalling the custom wool
carpets that were manufactured by Diamond for movie stars and famous peoples' homes and offices. Diamond later merged into World Wide Looms, an international manufacturer of wool yarn, both retiring in 1990. He enjoyed meeting his friends for coffee at McDonald's each morning and loved his church, The Tabernacle Baptist Church. He will be missed very much and remembered as a loving father always putting his family first.
He is survived by his daughters, Diannia Teague Beck (Brooke), Patricia Neel Jones (Wetzel) of Cartersville, and Susan Green (John) of Newnan; three grandsons, Leighton and Matt Green of Newnan and Patrick Cline of Athens and six great-grandchildren.
A graveside service will be held at 2:30 p.m., Thursday, August 2, 2012, in Oak Hill Cemetery with Rev. Richard Brown officiating. The family will receive friends from 6 – 8 p.m., on Wednesday at Parnick Jennings Funeral Home.
Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Brooke Beck, Wetzel Jones, John Green, Leighton Green, Matt Green, Patrick Cline and Don Mitchell.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Tabernacle Baptist Church, 112 E. Church Street, Cartersville.
Parnick Jennings Funeral Home and Cremation Services is honored to serve the family of Ralph French, please visit www.parnickjenningsfuneral.com to share your memories or leave a condolence message.