[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 26325]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO RALPH KLAASEN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 29, 2009

  Mr. CALVERT. Madam Speaker, San Clemente, California has been 
fortunate to have dynamic and dedicated community leaders who willingly 
and unselfishly give their time and talent and make their communities a 
better place to live and work. I rise today to recognize and honor one 
of those individuals: Mr. Ralph Klaasen. On Friday, October 16, 2009, 
Ralph passed away. He will be deeply missed.
  Ralph, a San Clemente resident since 1946, was a strong advocate for 
the south Orange County senior community for decades, serving as 
president of South County Senior Services and helping raise funds to 
build two San Clemente senior centers.
  Ralph Klaasen, along with Rex Tyner, co-chaired a successful campaign 
to build the current senior center at 242 Avenida Del Mar in 1982 and 
then another campaign to build its larger successor, the Dorothy Visser 
Senior Center, now under construction at 121 Avenida Victoria.
  Ralph also helped rally support to build Casa de Seniors, an 
affordable senior-housing complex. Through his work with South County 
Senior Services, he helped establish and administer other senior 
centers and programs from Dana Point to Laguna Hills.
  Born in San Diego and raised in Whittier, Ralph attended Whittier 
College before enlisting in the Navy during World War II. He served in 
the Pacific Theater from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. ``There were 13 major 
battles and I was in 12 of them,'' he once recalled. ``It was a long 
ordeal.''
  When the war ended in 1945, Ralph Klaasen returned to his parents' 
house in Dana Point. He went to work in San Clemente and worked for the 
city for a short period in the 1940's but spent most of his career 
working in banking for Bank of America, Laguna Federal Savings and 
Great American while raising a family in town.
  As Laguna Federal's longtime branch manager, Ralph was involved in 
community events and local charities. In 1975, the San Clemente Chamber 
of Commerce saluted him as the city's Citizen of the Year.
  He retired in 1985 but continued to contribute to his community. In 
2001, the city honored him on San Clemente's Wall of Recognition.
  Ralph's dedication to his community is a testament to a life lived 
well and a legacy that will continue. I extend my condolences to 
Ralph's family and friends; although Ralph may be gone, the light and 
goodness he brought to the world remain and will never be forgotten.

                          ____________________