Obituary
Ralph Leonard Hirt was born on November 25, 1937, in
Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He
attended local schools with his older brother, David Hirt,
and was affectionately known
as “Fuzzy” or “Len” to his friends.
He attended Penn State’s School of Forestry. One of his
favorite teachers told his
students, “Don’t stay here locally! Go out and see new
places and learn new things!”
Ralph embraced this call to adventure. He spent summers
working for Simpson Timber
Company in Northern California, earning money to attend Penn
State. After graduating,
he spent two years serving in the Army, mostly in Yuma, AZ.
He then returned to
Northern California to work for Simpson.
In 1966, Ralph married Renate Hirt (née Rose), a pretty schoolteacher
who was
working in McKinleyville. They made their home in Korbell,
CA. In 1968, they
welcomed daughter Lara to the family, and son Brian joined
them in 1970.
In 1972, Ralph was promoted to Logging Superintendent in
Klamath, CA. The family
found a beautiful home in Crescent City. Ralph worked for
Simpson until the logging
operation closed in 1989. Longing to “be his own boss,” he
purchased and ran Harrell’s
Septic for ten years before retiring.
In the early 1980s, Ralph started jogging after a health
fair recommended it for stress
management. Being the goal-oriented person that he was, he
quickly progressed from
a mile to a marathon to ultra-marathons (distances longer
than a marathon, typically
50K, 50M, 100M). He took great pride in his athletic
accomplishments and the
camaraderie of other runners. He met many lifelong friends
while out running trails. He
organized the Redwood Wild River Run each year in March for
30 years.
Ralph lived life to the fullest. He was known for his
colorful socks and outgoing
personality. He enjoyed walking and talking about the Camino
de Santiago, a pilgrimage
in Spain, which he walked four times. He enjoyed annual
hunting trips in Kansas with
his dear friend Paul Burkner. He enjoyed walking Lara’s dogs
on trails all over Del
Norte County (although everyone on the trails knows them as
“Ralph’s dogs”). He
enjoyed running and talking about politics and life with Jim
Brown.
An avid outdoorsman, Ralph foraged for mushrooms, which he loved to
share with his friends.
Ralph was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph Jacob Hirt
and Ruth Rinehart Hirt.
He is survived by his wife, Renate Hirt, children Lara and
Brian Hirt, grandsons Gabriel
and Benjamin Hirt, brother David Hirt (Emilia), sisters
Marjorie Begick (Vaughn), Jan
Lees (Gary), and many, many friends.