Ralph Lilly Fern

Abingdon, Va.—Ralph Lilly Fern passed away on May 22, 2018 at age 95. He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Dollie Fern; his wife of 40 years, Lena Orfield Fern; and two sisters, Elsie Dye and Mayme Blevins. 

He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Margaret Fern; his children, Stephen and Terri Fern of Terre Haute, Ind.; William and Heidi Fern of Spencer, Ind.; Marlena Pinner of Taylors, S.C.; and Scott and Suzan Mullins of Nora, Va.; nine grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren, with one on the way. He was proud of each and every one. 

Mr. Fern retired after 30 years of service to the management group CPC division of General Motors. He was a member of the Damascus Road Baptist Church, Abingdon Masonic Lodge, American Legion, and was a life member of VFW and DAV. Mr. Fern was an early volunteer for the US Navy in WWII.  After 28 days of boot camp, his first assignment was in the convoy route between Argencia, New Foundland, Reykjavik, and Akureyri, Iceland. His ship was then transferred to the British Home Fleet based at Scapo Flow Scotland.  The first activity was in landing British troops at Spitzberg.  The rest of the mission was to keep convoy routes open to the far North parts of Murmansk and Archangel, Russia, and to make harassing raids against the German held Norwegian coast.  At this time, there were no open ports to provide aid for the struggling Russian Army.  During a raid against the Germans near the enemy’s naval base at Trondheim, Norway, he was severely injured with head and leg wounds, and had both arms broken. 

A month later, he was back in the States having his cast removed.  After an eight day leave, he had a 3 lb. weight wired to his right hand and he was shipped off to the Panama Canal and the Pacific War Theater.  His first activity there was the landing of troops at Atipe and Hollendia in New Guinea.  His ship was then assigned to Task Force 58.  As he put it, “if you were a Japanese soldier or sailor and lived in the Pacific Islands, Task Force 58 was coming to see you.” And, things would never be the same for them again. Then the Island Hopping invasion began.  Twenty-seven months later after the first battle of the Philippine Sea, he received a 30 day R&R leave.  Upon his return to the Pacific, he was transferred to another ship and took part in invading Okinawa and the battle of Japan itself. He was with the first American forces to set foot on Southern Japan after the surrender. 

In his younger years, his favorite hobbies were hunting and fishing.  The highlight of his hunting was for bear in Canada and bagging some big game in Africa.  His greatest fishing experience was landing a tuna in waters off Cape May, New Jersey.  Another great experience was when fishing off Toms River, New Jersey; he hooked two cod fish on one cast.  The fish weighed a total of 60 lbs.  They broke his fishing rod but a 75 lb. test line held and he managed to land them with only the reel in his hand. 

Mr. Fern was an avid traveler, visiting England and most of the countries of Europe, the Scandinavian countries, Russia, the Balkan countries, and the Middle East: Turkey, Israel, and Egypt. On his last trip, he and his wife, Margaret, visited Spain, Portugal, and Africa. His favorite places on this trip were Tangiers, Casablanca, and Marrakech next to the Sahara Desert.  

Visitation will be held at Main Street Chapel of Farris Funeral Service from 12:30-2:00 p.m., on Saturday, May 26, 2018. The funeral will begin at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. John E. Massey officiating.  Interment will follow at Forest Hills Memory Gardens.  Pall bearers will be grandsons, Joel Fern, Dr. Stephen Fern, Josh Fern, Will Fern, Matt Fern, and Jeremy Humphrey.  Military honors will be performed by the United State Navy and the Highlands Veterans Honor Guard. 

Flowers are gladly accepted or donations in memory of Mr. Fern may be made to the Damascus Road Baptist Church, 18844 Jeb Stuart Hwy., Abingdon, VA 24211. 

Those wishing to share memories and express sympathy online may do so by visiting www.farrisfuneralservice.com. Mr. Fern and his family are in the care of Farris Funeral Service and Crematory, 427 East Main Street, Abingdon, VA  24210 (276-623-2700).