Ralph William Ortwig, M.D., F.A.C.S. of Cascade, passed away on
September 16, 2009, at the age of 75. He is survived by his wife, Elaine; his two
sons, Kurt (Deyan) and Erik Ortwig; three grandsons, Alex, Max and Zach as well
as both of his sisters, Margaret Baker and Normal Smith. Ralph was a graduate of
the University of Michigan Medical School. He was an early proponent of
emergency rooms in the Grand Rapids area before specializing as an ear, nose
and throat doctor who became known to many of his young patients as "the
Balloon Doctor".
Ralph joined our club just before he retired and was having a ball getting into just about everything Ham radio related. He always had a smile for everybody and would discuss Ham Radio till the sun came up.