Obituary of Ralph Helmut Storz

In the afternoon of October 8th 2015, Ralph Helmut Storz passed peacefully away ending his battle with cancer. His loving wife and their three children surrounded him with love as he moved on. Ralph was 68 years old. Ralph was born in Summit, NJ on July 17th 1947. He was the third child and second son of Helmut and Hilda Storz. He grew up in a loving family with his brother, Fred, who predeceased him, and his sister Barbara. He graduated from Freehold Borough High School in 1965 and achieved his Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Ralph met the love of his life, Donna Boutote, in November of 1967 and they were married in Freehold, NJ at St. Rose of Lima on January 31st 1970. They raised their three children, Michael, Jodi and Danielle, in Colts Neck, NJ and then temporarily moved to Danville, CA while Ralph worked for Leica Geosystems. During his time in California, he travelled with his wife to Switzerland, Italy, Costa Rica, Belize and Guatemala. After 10 years on the west coast, Ralph accepted a position with Thorlabs, which brought him and Donna back to Sparta, NJ. Always an extremely dedicated worker, he remained committed to his role at Thorlabs, even after his terminal diagnosis. Ralph cherished his family and friends dearly and was always willing and able to lend a helping hand. He became a household name - if something broke “call Ralph” and he was there immediately. There was nothing he couldn’t repair and the more challenging the issue, the more enjoyment he would get in fixing it. Ralph is survived by his wife and three children, his grandchildren, Gavin, Ava, Kyle and Katie, his sister, Barbara Lloyd and his beloved golden retriever, April. Ralph has numerous nieces and nephews who he loved greatly. Ralph was truly a family man - nothing was more important to him than family. Services will be held in Freehold, NJ. A viewing will be held on Monday, October 12th from 4 to 8pm at Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold. Please feel free to join the family at 7:30pm for brief remarks in memory of Ralph. The funeral will be at St. Rose of Lima in Freehold on Tuesday at 10:30am. Ralph will be cremated. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Chapel Haven, Inc’s capital campaign, 1040 Whalley Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06515 in memory of Ralph Storz. These were Ralph’s wishes.