1929 – 2016

DANVERS, Mass. — Dawn Charlotte Foster Ralph, 86, passed away in the early hours of Friday, Nov. 18.

Dawn was born in Auburn and graduated from Edward Little High School in 1948. She was an outstanding musician, playing the French horn and attending Boston University on a full music scholarship.

While at BU, she met and married her husband, Albert. She left her studies to raise their three children, and returned to BU in 1971 to finish her degree work in education.

She taught in the Peabody School System for many years, working at the Kennedy Junior High, the McCarthy School and Peabody Veterans Memorial High School. She was widely recognized for excellence in teaching and maintained contact with many of her students.

An avid gardener, Dawn was renowned for her beautiful flower beds and her love of the Boston Red Sox. She was an active member of West Congregational Church for many years, serving on a variety of boards and committees. Her growing-up years were at the High Street Congregational Church in Auburn. Her warmth and compassion as a friend and neighbor were legendary.

Dawn is survived by her husband, Albert J. Ralph of Lynn, Mass., and Goffstown, N.H.; her daughter, Eileen Suckley and her husband, Tom, of Goffstown, N.H.; her son, Donald Ralph and his wife, Stephanie, of Medway, Mass.; her daughter, Carol Ralph and her husband, Joe Swertinski, of Newark, Del.; her grandson, Thomas Edward Suckley III of Goffstown, N.H.; and her sister, Dorothy Kern of Auburn.

She was predeceased by her parents, Donald Foster and Ethyl Foster Allen; her brother, Albert Foster; and her brother, Norman Foster.


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