In Memoriam: Ralph U. Price
Ralph U. Price (July 3, 1931 - December 20, 2025)
The psalmist writes: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10, KJV).
Ralph Urban Price, beloved and devoted member of Saint Peter’s, died peacefully in hospice care on Saturday, December 20, 2025. At ninety four years of age, Ralph had long surpassed the fourscore years the psalmist imagined as the upper range of a life-time; indeed, he was approaching fivescore.
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ralph was born July 3, 1931, to Sterling Joseph and Erna (Dally) Price. His older brother, Roy, predeceased him. He earned a B.Arch. degree from the University of Michigan and became a licensed architect. His earliest position was with the Finnish-American architect, Eero Saarinen. It was there that he met Kevin Roche, whose firm Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, Ralph would work, essentially, the entirety of his professional career.
Ralph was a dedicated and loyal collaborator. From the Ford Foundation to the enclosure for the Temple of Dendur at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, we can see and experience Ralph’s contributions to the firm right here in New York City, to say nothing of around the world. When he retired in the 1992, Mr. Roche asked Ralph to come immediately out of retirement and run the development of the Pontiac Marina Project in Singapore, an expansive complex of land reclaimed from the seat. In a postcard Ralph sent to Saint Peter’s from this far-off position where he was to create something out of nothing, he wrote with his inimitable sense of humor: “I may have found an apartment: given the furnishings, call it Bare Bones by the Sea.” He very much enjoyed his time in Singapore but was glad to return to New York City. Initially staying with friends in Kipps Bay, he then moved to the Upper East Side.
Ralph filled these later years of his nearly five score years with activity – Saint Peter’s at the center of it all – in his beloved adopted home of New York City until he began to struggle with memory. Only a few years ago he moved to Wartburg in Mt. Vernon, and then this past summer to an assisted living home near family in Gainesville, Florida.
Intentional moves are in Ralph’s DNA. A life-long Lutheran, it was no small thing when Ralph transferred his membership from Covenant Lutheran Church (LC-MS) in Detroit, Michigan to Saint Peter’s Church in October, 1967. That meant movement both from Detroit and from the Lutheran-Church Missouri Synod. Like the other moves in his life, Ralph poured himself not only into a place but into community.
Ralph served on the parish council of Saint Peter’s at a crucial time, as a member of the ushers team and a member of the property committee. He was a beloved member of the design and art and architecture committees. And, importantly, he served on the call committee that brought The Rev. Dr. John S. Damm to Saint Peter’s.
For the wider church in New York City, Ralph served as chair of the Committee for Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling and member of the Board of Ministry of the Metropolitan New York Synod. He served on the Board of Directors of Warburg and Seafarers and International House, and was the past chairman of Hospital Chaplaincy, Inc.
Around the globe and right here in New York City, Ralph’s dedication to architecture, society and church touched the lives of millions upon millions of people.
Here at Saint Peter’s, Ralph’s contributions are perhaps least known but deeply appreciated:
Ralph helped conceive a set of vestments for Nevelson Chapel. The work of Frances Pusch, the chasuble, with accompanying burse and veil, continues the soft off-white color of the Chapel’s sculpture in the plain woolen outer chasuble, with the vivid color of the liturgical season being seen only in the free-hanging inter chasubles and stoles. These items were dedicated November 21, 1982, in memory of Ralph’s grandparents Louis and Marie Dally.
He was chair of the columbarium committee that brought the Eickhof Columbaria Inc. company (Ralph served regularly as a consultant to Eickhof) into collaboration with Vignelli Associates. Saint Peter’s columbarium, one of the earliest in the city prompted in large part in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, was possible thanks to his devotion to the project.
In addition to his parents and brother, Ralph is predeceased by a nephew, Michael Price. He is survived by Jeanne Sabourin (Canton, Michigan), Glenn Price (Houston, TX), Lawrence (Larry) Price (Gainesville, Florida), Stephen Price (Canton, Michigan) and David Price (Aurora, Illinois) and their families.
A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated here at Saint Peter’s on Saturday, January 17 at 11:00 AM, at which time Ralph will be inurned in the columbarium. In lieu of flowers, Ralph’s family ask that donations be made to The Rev. Dr. John S. Damm Fund for Pastoral Leadership at Saint Peter’s. This Fund, a perpetual endowed fund that supports pastoral residencies and sabbaticals, is named for a former senior pastor of Saint Peter’s and Ralph’s long-time, trusted friend.
Rest eternal grant him, O Lord.
And let light perpetual shine upon him.
Grace and peace to you,
Jared R. Stahler
Senior Pastor