Ralph W. Keyes was born in Aiken County, S.C. in 1918 to the late Peter and Lula Baskett Keyes. He entered into eternal rest on Thursday, October 13, 2011 in Richmond, Virginia.

Ralph was baptized at an early age at Old Storm Branch Baptist Church in S.C. and later joined 1st Mt. Mariah in Augusta, GA. When relocating to Powhatan, he joined Hollywood Baptist Church by Christian experience. He was united in marriage to Marjorie Branch in New York City. Their union lasted 63 years. In his early career, he welded battleships at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during WWII and ran underground communications lines through Alaska and Greenland. Ralph later became an entrepreneur who had many businesses including, master upholster in Augusta, Georgia and owned a hardware store and locksmith in Harlem, NY. Ralph retired in 1998.

Ralph was preceded in death by his parents, his son, Robert, and his siblings, Garfield, Rosa Lee, Marie and Essie. He leaves to cherish his memory: a loving and devoted wife, Marjorie; one daughter, Jacqueline of New York; three grandchildren, Monica, Michael, and Charisse; nine great-grandchildren, all of New York; three sisters-in-law, Marion Miller of New Haven, CT, Tessie (Floyd) Bates of Powhatan and Thelma Branch of Richmond, VA; devoted nieces, Margie Bates of Alexandria, VA and Florine Bell of Powhatan; and a host of nieces, nephews, one devoted, Victor Keyes, other relatives and friends.