April 25, 1946 – July 31, 2020
Harold “Ralph” Haley, a resident of Reading for 40 years passed away July 31, 2020, at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was 74 years of age. Ralph was born in Boston on April 25, 1946, son of Harold E. and Vera (Hanson) Haley, and grew up in Saugus, MA.
Ralph earned his Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University and then spent his 43-year career at C. S. Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA. While at Draper, Ralph worked as an integrated circuit design engineer and later became the leader of the integrated circuit design group, contributing to many important programs for the US Navy and other government entities, including the world’s first MEMS gyroscope and the Navy’s Trident system, and he was recognized by the Navy for his service. Ralph was devoted to the best interests of “The Lab” and his team, always treating others with patience and kindness.
Ralph was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1998, but he never let it hold him back from living his life to the fullest or continuing to keep doing all the things he loved while his body allowed him to do so. In the interest of helping advance Parkinson’s research and contributing to helping others with the disease, Ralph participated in numerous studies over the past 22-years, including a study at Yale University, which tracked the progression of the disease. As his final contribution to advancing Parkinson’s research, Ralph made the selfless decision to donate his brain to the Harvard University Neuro Discovery Center Biomarker Study.
Ralph was a true family man, nothing was more important to him than his family. He enjoyed attending his children’s sports activities, volunteered with Boy Scouts (helping both of his sons achieve the rank of Eagle Scout), and as a parent volunteer for the RMHS Marching Band for nearly 10 years. He enjoyed camping every summer and spending time at the King’s lake house in Maine. Ralph also enjoyed traveling, vegetable gardening, woodworking, and golf, but enjoyed nothing more than spending time with his family and watching them succeed.
Ralph is survived by his wife, Elizabeth (Lane) Haley, and his four children: Jason and his wife Caprice, Ryan and his wife Shelley, Lauren and her fiancé Sean Valiente, and Rebecca and her fiancé Nicholas Novaris; and his four grandchildren, Benjamin, Abigail, Amelia and Nathaniel. He also leaves his brother Donald Haley and his wife Janet, his sister Muriel and her husband John Ostrowski, his brother in law John Coffin and Ralph’s late sister, Janice(Haley) Coffin, as well as his niece and nephews.
Funeral service and burial for Ralph are private and there are no visiting hours.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Ralph’s memory to the Michael J. Fox Foundation P.O. Box 5014 Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.
