Ralph De Coste was one of five children born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and times were challenging. His father was a WWI veteran and struggled as a binge drinker. His mother was a loving woman who tried to keep her siblings together. She married Ralph's father at age 16. From an early age Ralph delivered morning papers, became a telegraph messenger and a clerk. As a boy he was an altar server in the Catholic Church, an army cadet, and quit school in grade 10.
Heading to the beach one day he saw a sign that said "Join the Canadian Army". He enlisted and served over 35 years in the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE). He trained in Petawawa, at the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering (RCSME) in Chilliwack and then in Wainwright. He sailed on a troop ship to Korea and served in the Korean War and then the Armistice of July 27, 1953. He was favourably impressed with the South Korean people while in Korea and enjoyed a lifelong friendship with them.
Serving with the RCE, he was posted to Camp Chilliwack in 1954 where he met and married Eva Besse, the love of his life! The adventures continued with the birth of their five children and postings all across Canada. While working and being a very busy father, Ralph studied correspondence courses and graduated from high school. He taught army engineers at Chilliwack and was commissioned from ranks. He later served on a NATO committee in Germany for over 8 years. He became an Engineering Technologist in BC. He joined the Korean War Veterans Association of Canada (KVA Inc.) and served at the Unit, Provincial and National levels. He retired from the military as a Major in 1986.
He worked as a Coroner for over 7 years with the Province of BC which proved to be another challenging and interesting experience. After fully retiring, Ralph and Eva enjoyed years of travel to many countries around the world and met many Canadian, German and Korean friends. He continues his involvement with the RCE, the Annual Retired Sapper's Reunions and KVA Canada Inc. Since Eva's death in 2017, Ralph continues to keep busy spending time with his family and many valued friends as he travels "Toward Life's Sunset".
