Ralph Francis Kincaid II

Ralph was born Feb. 21, 1946, and passed away Nov. 7, 2023. He was born in Kirksville, Mo., to Ralph and Mina Kincaid. He was the oldest of two boys. His brother, Brad, and his wife, Piya, live in Sedona, Ariz. Ralph’s dad was a farmer, and later in life, owned and operated a real estate office in Moses Lake. His mother did tax research for a local CPA firm.

His family moved to Pasco, Wash., to farm when he was 8 years old. They were one of the first families in Block 15 in the Columbia Basin project. His family farmed for three years and then moved into downtown Pasco. Ralph graduated from Pasco High School in 1964 and then attended WSU.

Ralph married his high school sweetheart, Lois, and had two children, Jay Kincaid of Moses Lake, Wash., and Dawn (Lou) Grespan of Tokyo and Carlsbad, Calif. They also have three grandchildren and one grandson-in-law: Gwen and Tommy Metzger of Dallas, Texas, Thomas Grespan of Carlsbad, Calif., and Valerie Grespan of San Diego, Calif.

After WSU Ralph started selling life insurance and became the youngest CLIU in the nation at that time. In 1976, he qualified for the Evinrude Bass Pro National Tournament in Arkansas. On the first day of the tournament, he fell into the lake at sunrise. Even though it was 40 degrees he fished all day in his wet clothes and shoes. He loved competition in any form — fishing, golfing, poker, gin, cribbage and especially Scrabble. 

In 1978 he transferred with Nationwide Insurance to San Francisco. In 1983, he founded a venture-backed high-tech company called VoiceCom Systems. Voice messaging was a new technology at the time and the company grew quickly. Ralph was challenged with putting a team together and then building the company from the ground up. Ralph loved the challenge VoiceCom presented. It was a fun and exciting time for him. 

In 1992, Ralph and Lois moved to Moses Lake. They reopened his father’s business, Real Property Sales, and started selling real estate. He loved selling commercial and farm real estate and also enjoyed commercial leasing. 

In 1997, Ralph and Lois bought the local Windermere office. He was president of the Grant County Economic Development Council from 2005 to 2006. Helping the community grow through recruitment and retention of industrial business was one of his professional passions. 

Here’s a quote from his LinkedIn profile: “All my life I have loved the outdoors. In the spring and summer, I fish for bass with an occasional float trip on the Grande Ronde for smallmouth. From July through November, I float the Deschutes, Klickitat and Grande Ronde to fly fish for steelhead. In the fall and winter, I hunt ducks and chase chukar and quail. The greatest challenge and frustration of all my hobbies is the game of golf. I have every shot in the game … I just don’t know when they will happen.”

In 2011, Ralph traveled to St. Andrews in Scotland with his golf buddies, which was the trip of a lifetime.

Ralph was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Mina Kincaid, and one grandson, David James Grespan. He loved life to the fullest and was always ready for an adventure. He loved gadgets and had a camp kitchen in a box that he could open up and put together gourmet meals after a day of fishing and hunting. The day was always finished off with a campfire, dinner, storytelling (some true and some not so true) and the sound of antlers clashing in the distance, coyotes howling, and many other beautiful melodies from God’s creatures great and small. 

A Celebration of Life service will be Dec. 1, 2023, at 1 p.m. at the Moses Lake Presbyterian Church. After the service, friends and family will gather at Pillar Rock for a time of storytelling, appetizers and a toast or two to Ralph — a life well lived.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Grant County Animal Outreach, 6275 Randolph Road NE, Moses Lake, WA 98837. 

Please express your thoughts and memories for the family at www.kayserschapel.com. Arrangements are under the care of Kayser's Chapel of Memories.