Ralph Marlen VLCEK, LCDR, USN, Ret

VLCEK, Ralph Marlen, LCDR, USN, Ret., of Niantic, passed away peacefully at home April 14, 2019, surrounded by his loving family. He was born Nov. 18, 1942, in Beatrice, Neb., the son of William L. and Anna C. (Sokolik) Vlcek. He enlisted in the Navy in May 1961 upon his graduation from Wilber High School and entered the submarine service. Following his retirement from the Navy in 1983 at the rank of LCDR, he worked for Analysis and Technology, Tracor Applied Sciences, and DDL OMNI Engineering where he was the Vice President of the Engineering Services Division before his retirement in 2017. He was an avid reader, a handyman who could fix anything, and a season ticket holder of the WNBA CT Sun and UCONN Women's basketball teams. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Judith (Vara) Vlcek; his daughters, Angela Davol and her husband, Roderick, Jr., of East Providence, R.I.; Judith Cloherty and her husband, James, of North Attleboro, Mass.; and Terri White and her husband, Jonathan, of East Lyme; his grandchildren, Michael, Jason and Samantha Davol, Matthew and Bryan Cloherty, and Rachel and Sarah White; his siblings, Willma Zavadil of Lincoln, Neb., and Lloyd Vlcek of Florida; and brother-in-law, Samuel Vara, Jr., of Niantic. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his brother John.

Sailor, Rest your oar...