Ralph Wyant (Dave's dad) was born in small-town Greenfield, Indiana on May 17, 1925. The Wyant family lived in a modest home on Riley Avenue.
Ralph's father, Clarence, was a factory worker at a nearby Eli Lilly pharmaceutical plant. His mother, Eva, was a homemaker and kept the family
household in order. Ralph has one sister, Helen Petty, of Richmond, Indiana.
Life in rural, middle-America must have been quite an experience for a young boy in the pre-WW2, depression era, when horse-drawn wagons, steam locomotives, coal furnaces, iceboxes and outhouses were common. He lived a memorable childhood, as evidenced by the stories told to his wife, Millie.
Ralph lived in Greenfield until he went into the Navy in 1943. After the war, he returned to Greenfield, but then went to work in nearby metropolitan Indianapolis. There, he met and courted Millie Alexander for two years, which resulted in marriage on July 16, 1947. They have three sons: Steve (1949), Dave (1951) and Greg (1953).
Ralph's hobbies include walking, backpacking and camping. Ralph's backpacking trips with Millie and son Dave include a 3-day trip into Utah's Paria Canyon, a 5-day trip in the Grand Canyon, and 8-day and 10-day trips in Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Ralph has been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon three times and has dayhiked numerous trails in Great Smokey Mountain National Park.
Ralph and Millie are now retired and living a happy life at their rural home near Avon, Indiana.