Private Ralph Beebe Rees, class of 1920, died of pneumonia in France on October 8, 1918. When he registered for the draft, Ralph was working at the Pacific American Fisheries cannery at Excursion Inset, Alaska. He left the UW in June, 1918, to enter military service. Within five weeks of his induction on June 25, 1918 – following short stints at Camp Lewis and Camp Kearny – Ralph was sent to France with the headquarters company of the 158th Infantry. Before seeing active service, however, he contracted pneumonia. He is buried at St. Mihiel American Cemetery in France. (bit.ly/uw_rbrees).
A native of St. Joseph, Illinois, Ralph was the middle of three children born to Dr. William Rees and his wife, Almona Beebe. The family moved to Portland in 1911 and Ralph graduated from Washington High School there in 1915. Ralph entered the UW following a year of study at Reed College. He was majoring in electrical engineering in the hopes of serving with the signal corps and was ranked at the top of his class academically. He was a member Pi Tau Upsilon Fraternity.