by Al Ralston
July, 2025

Recently, my friend and former Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro passed away at 81 years of age. He was a giant in Washington State in so many areas, not because of his Republican Party affiliation or because he had been elected to a statewide office, but because of who he was and the many and unselfish efforts he engaged in over his lifetime. I first met Ralph when he was in Governor Dan Evans’s office as an assistant and advisor to the Governor in the early 1970s.  Ralph had graduated from Western Washington State College (now WWU) in 1966, just ahead of when I graduated from there.  I had become active in the alumni board at “Western” and I was able to meet Ralph in that capacity.  We were both young in our careers and our paths crossed many times over the years.

Earlier this year, a memorial service was held for Ralph at our State Capitol in Olympia. Fittingly, the ceremony was conducted in the rotunda of the capitol building under the massive granite stones which had been carved by his grandfather over 100 years ago.  At the ceremony, there were many distinguished speakers extolling the many activities and achievements Ralph had engaged in over his lifetime. From recommending that many of the Vietnamese refugees from the fall of Saigon and Vietnam be allowed to come to Washington State with the state as a sponsor to leading the effort to protect Orcas from capture and removal from Puget Sound waters. I saw Ralph in a more personal light. He was very open to the public. While he was Secretary of State, he opened his office to me on numerous occasions to meet with the legislative interns from Western Washington University to discuss politics and the legislative process. This was important to me as I had been an intern from Western as well. The students loved it. So did Ralph.

Ralph was also a very proud and active Rotarian.  His primary cause was helping to end the scourge of polio in the world.  As a fellow Rotarian, I too share in his passion for “End Polio Projects” worldwide. He did more than talk about it, he actively engaged by traveling to East Africa, primarily Uganda and Ethiopia to administer the droplets of polio prevention to countless numbers of children thus giving them a chance to grow up polio free. A friend of mine, a fellow Rotarian and former employee of World Vision International, told me that Ralph the Scotsman was famous in East Africa for his tireless work in helping to eradicate polio.

When I think of Ralph, my first vision is seeing him in downtown Olympia during the holiday season greeting shoppers while ringing the bell over the Salvation Army red cauldron soliciting donations for the charity. Well, if the truth be known, he was often playing his bagpipes causing quite a stir with the shoppers. That was Ralph Munro, always causing a stir for the good of the order. It was never the politics or the party that drove Ralph, it was the programs and people he was helping that were the drivers. You will forever be remembered.

Al Ralston is a longtime lobbyist in Olympia and board member of the Washington Courts Historical Society