Ralph “Rock” Carlson came to Grove City College from Mt. Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh in 1958 and he played varsity basketball, EP IF football, IF Softball, and golf. Ralph graduated from GCC with a B.S. in Metallurgy and continued studies at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned both a M.S, and a PhD in Mathematics.
In between his academic pursuits, he married the late Kay Holland ’62 and they began a marriage that lasted well over 50 years until Kay very recently passed away. Ralph and Kay have three adult children. Ralph and Kay were people of deep faith and conviction, everyone who knew them knows that. One of the highlights of their life was a pilgrimage to Israel and the Holy Land and they prepared an outstanding CD and commentary of their trip.
Like all EPs, whether it’s been five years or fifty years, you pick up with stories right where you left off and that certainly is true with the pledge class of 1958. Each one of the contributors to this article, had three or four specific recollections their interactions with the “Rock.”
Stu Axtell ‘64, a roommate of Rock describes him as, “one of the smartest people I have ever met.” Rock begins with the desired outcome he is seeking and then reverse-engineers the process to identify each step to produce the outcome he is trying to achieve.
Tom “Turtle” Robinson ’61 joined the EPs with Rock among one of the largest pledge classes in EP history with 34 pledges. The EPs were coming off probation from the “Iron Bridge incident” and several classes waited until they could all join together. Turtle notes that Rock was a better than average varsity basketball player and was so gifted intellectually that he did not have to spend a lot of time studying. Rock was both a coach and mentor to many Grove City graduates who were preparing for their graduate degrees at other universities.
Turtle described the first of Rock’s two periods on the faculty at GCC. During his first tenure, Dr. Philip Carpenter, head of the Mathematics Department, had to take a leave of absence and Ralph became the acting head of the Math Department. Rock also became a consultant to Livermore Labs—they would send him a problem and he would send them the solution. In 1980, Livermore Labs made him an offer he could not refuse and the Carlsons moved to California for the next 20 years.
Bill “Yam” Hladio ’64, recalls Rock as the moral conscience of the EP fraternity as an active and later as the EP advisor. Rock was forever soft-spoken, never really raising his voice, but you never were left with any confusion about how Rock felt regarding any particular issue. Yam (a former Sgt. of Arms) noted that Rock advocated for a cognitive approach for instilling the principles of the EP fraternity into new members.
Charlie “Bud” Runyon ’62 was a late applicant to GCC and had to live off campus his freshman year. It was a long walk to campus, especially in winter and Rock invited Bud to leave items in his room and hang out between classes. Bud reflects, “Ralph Carlson is the reason I became an EP and I’ve been grateful ever since.”
Ron Lamanna ’62, met Rock in 1958 when they were freshman living in Ketler Hall. Ron was a Chemistry major, so he crossed paths with Rock frequently in their academic pursuits. Ron’s favorite recollection of Rock is the night when fraternity bids were being signed in 1958. Ron was in the infirmary with a severe case of influenza, and Rock came to the infirmary, escorted Ron out of the infirmary to where the bids were to be signed, Ron signed his bid—along with 33 other brothers—and then Rock made sure Ron got back to the infirmary safe and sound. Ron says, “Rock is the reason I came to be an EP. I was not a ‘jock’ and would have never been an EP if it were not for Rock.”
Ralph knew what his brothers meant when they called out “anyone want to go out the road, “but Ralph never, ever, not even once, went out the road!” That remains true even today.
Rock’s brother-in law, Richard “Biff” Holland ‘66, was also an EP and after graduation, Biff became head of the Pittsburgh Pirates Ticket Office—which allowed many EPs to attend numerous Pirates’ games, including the 1971 World Series against Baltimore. Biff passed away way too early in his life!
Ralph's final undergraduate honor at Grove City occurred in 1961 when he was named ODK Senior “Man of the Year”. To my knowledge, only two other EPs have ever received this prestigious honor—Curt Siverling (1985) and Chris Gibbs (2014).
Career Highlights
Rock began his career with Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory (1967-1973) and worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (1980-2000). You do not get to Livermore Labs without “credentials,” and Rock had them in spades. After 20 years, he retired from Livermore, and moved back to Grove City from Southern California where he assumed the position of Professor of Mathematics.
He served two separate periods at GCC from 1973-1980 and 2000-2014. Just prior to his retirement, he was named “Professor of the Year” by his peers. He retired from GCC in 2014.
In his retirement years, Rock become an author and in 2015, he published Truth and Consequences, which is available online. In his book, Rock attempts to answer two major questions: (1) Does God exist? and (2) What is the source of God on earth? It is a great read (98 pages) and will give you some insight into his great intellect!
Rock had three great “earthly” loves—his wife Kay, Grove City College, and the great Epsilon Pi Fraternity. Rock probably knew more EPs over the years than anyone else and I am privileged to be one of them.
I know Ralph Carlson from two viewpoints—the already legendary Ralph Carlson when I was school as he had just graduated from GCC and as the EP Advisor in the early 2000s. He is a kind man—forgiving, highly-principled, and compassionate—who held people accountable without reservation. Today he believes that as an EP, “you should seek to make this a better fraternity because YOU were in it!”
Ralph still resides in Grove City.
God bless you, Ralph “Rock” Carlson!
Tom Haller, 1966
Contributors to this article:
Stu Axtell ‘64
Tom Robinson ‘62
Bill Hladio ‘64
Charlie Runyon ‘62
Ron Lamanna ‘62
Editor's note: There are very few EPs of the modern era who have had such a large and positive impact on Epsilon Pi. Ralph was clearly an outstanding brother, an undisputed leader, and a recognized scholar on the Grove City campus. Ralph achieved two graduate degrees and later served two terms as an esteemed professor at Grove City. Ralph was also an instrumental alumni leader who helped bring the EPs back to form in the early 2000's and then continued on as the EP Advisor. One of the EP Scholarships is named in Ralph's honor. If you know Ralph in any capacity, I encourage you to reach out to Ralph and thank him for his many contributions. nwh
Comments