Ralph M. Esposito died at his home in Tuckahoe on May 11, 2019, just shy of his 97th birthday.
Born May 21, 1922, to Alfonso and Maria Esposito of the Bronx, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College, where he played on the freshman baseball team, and his doctor of dental science from Marquette University in Wisconsin. He served in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant junior grade, in the medical unit from 1946 to 1948, stationed in Korea and Japan, and assigned to run the U.S. military’s dental clinics in each location. He was formally discharged from active duty in 1948.
He went on to private practice in the Bronx until he retired at age 70. He and Lucy Mele of Manhattan married in 1952, and they raised their family together in Stamford, Connecticut. They divorced in 1985.
He was a member of the Italian Dental Society of NY, serving as its president from 1966 to 1967, and member of the American Dental Association. He also taught at New York dental clinics; worked as staff member at local hospitals and nursing homes during his career and into his retirement; and was an active church member in the St. Leo Parish of Stamford.
He is survived by his children, Dale Sweeney, Lori Murray, Ralph Esposito and Cheryl Loraditch; seven grandchildren; and cherished friend, Edythe
Goldenberg.
A funeral took place on May 16 at Immaculate Conception Church in Tuckahoe. Burial was at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale.
Memorial donations may be made to Jansen Hospice and Palliative Care, 670 White Plains Road, Suite 213, Scarsdale, NY 10583; Turn 2 Foundation, 215 Park Avenue South, Suite 1905, New York, NY 10003; or Disabled Veterans Foundation, 4601 Forbes Blvd., Suite 130, Lanham, MD 20706.
on May 20, 2019