Ralph Sydney Evinrude (1907 - 1986)

Born 27 Sep 1907 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Ancestors

Died 21 May 1986 at age 78 in Stuart, Martin, Florida, United States

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Biography

Ralph Sydney Evinrude was born Sept. 27, 1907 in Wisconsin. His father, Ole Evinrude, had invented and manufactured the fisherman's and sportman's light weight outboard motor.

Ralph, the only child, joined the family business of outboard motors, Elto Outboard Motor Co. in 1927 and worked on development of a new four-cylinder motor, the Elto Quad.

After his father’s death in 1934, Ralph headed the company. Elto Outboard Motor Co. merged with Johnson Motor Co. in 1936 to become Outboard Marine & Manufacturing Corp. (OMC). Ralph became the President and Director of the Corp. He spent 55 years with the business expanding it to include boats, lawn mowers, snow mobiles and chain saws. For the outboard motor; Ralph took an active role in the development of modern fully enclosed engine styling, noise silencing advances, electric starting and remote controls.

The company's operations were located in many nations outside the United States.

Ralph married Marion Eleanor Armitage, who was born in 1911. They married Jan. 3, 1931. Their children: Sally Lou Evinrude and Thomas Evinrude.

During the war years of 1941 to 1945, Ralph managed the company’s production of war related products.

After the war’s end, Ralph (a single man by then) met Frances Langford (the famous entertainer) while she was performing in a nightclub. He married Frances Langford in 1955 and moved to Jensen Beach, FL. He also retired from the OMC business.

During retirement he and Frances did many philanthropic activities. The activities were centered in Florida and in Wisconsin (the Outboard Motors home base). He founded the Ralph Evinrude School of Marine Technology at the Florida Institute in Port Canaveral, Florida.

Ralph S. Evinrude died on May 21, 1986 in Jensen Beach, FL.

In March of 2001 the outboard assets of OMC, namely Johnson and Evinrude, were sold to Bombardier of Canada. The new company stated they would continue with the fine outboard motor tradition.

Sources

See also:

• This WikiTree profile is referenced from Wikidata: Item Q2052670, en:Wikipedia

• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPKM-TGZ : accessed 9 September 2018), Ralph S Evinrude in household of Ole Evinrude, Milwaukee Ward 8, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 68, sheet 7B, family 113, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1725; FHL microfilm 1,375,738.

• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFK9-R8D : accessed 9 September 2018), Ralph S Evinrude in household of Ole Evinrude, Milwaukee Ward 18, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States; citing ED 217, sheet 2B, line 97, family 55, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 2003; FHL microfilm 1,822,003.

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7J2-6ML : 16 March 2018), Ralph Evinrude, Fox Point, Fox Point Village, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 40-9, sheet 6B, line 64, family 118, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4500.

• "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J16C-GNL : 20 May 2014), Ralph Evinrude, May 1986; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 15 February 2021), memorial page for Ralph Sydney Evinrude (27 Sep 1907–21 May 1986), Find A Grave: Memorial #133255029, citing Fernhill Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum, Stuart, Martin County, Florida, USA ; Maintained by Martin Weybright (contributor 47169053) .

• "Florida Death Index, 1877-1998," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VV89-Q19 : 25 December 2014), Ralph Sydney Evinrude, 21 May 1986; from "Florida Death Index, 1877-1998," index, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : 2004); citing vol. , certificate number 51814, Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, Jacksonville.

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK7L-LXDC : accessed 9 September 2018), Ralph Evinrude, North Carolina, United States, 22 May 1986; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Charlotte Observer, The, born-digital text.