St. George, Utah – Ralph Edwin Springer, 91, passed away August 31, 2017. He was the only child of Raymond Emile and Ada Lucille Springer. He was born July 12, 1926 in Denver, Colorado, but grew up in Los Angeles, California moving to Long Beach, California when he was a teenager.

Ralph served during WWII as a submariner in the U.S. Navy. When he returned home he met and married Beverly Rubottom on October 4, 1947. They were married for 69 years. They have two wonderful daughters, Terri and Vicki.

Ralph was a salesman. He worked for Laura Scudder Potato Chips for 18 years. In 1970, he started Springer Distributing and became the first distributor of Mother's Cookies in the state of Utah. He loved the grocery business and made many friends. He was known as the "Cookie Man".

He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1963 and he and Bev were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in 1964. He loved to serve in the Church. His first responsibility was Elder's Quorum President. He served as a High Councilman with assignment to serve with the Young Adults in the Utah Brighton Stake. Ralph and Bev moved to Park City, Utah where he soon became Bishop of the Park City 1st Ward. After moving to St. George, they served two missions in California, San Diego and Tahiti, Papeete. He served four years as Director of the Baptistery in the St. George Temple. He always said he was blessed to have the opportunity to serve his Heavenly Father.

Ralph is survived by his wife, Bev; daughters: Terri (Steven) Demas and Vicki (Robert) Crockett; grandsons: Scott Demas and Greg (Nicole) Crockett; granddaughters: Kari (Perry) Evans and Julie (Brandon) Hunt; and ten great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at the Metcalf Mortuary Chapel, 288 West St. George Blvd., St. George, Utah. A visitation will be held Tuesday, prior to services, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the mortuary. Interment will be in the Tonaquint Cemetery.

The family would like to thank Dixie Home Hospice and especially: Christy, Shauna, Aimee and Mary Ellen for their loving care.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Memory Matters Utah at memorymattersutah.org.