Ralph Travis Eubanks
1920-2007
Photo from Fighting Men of Arkansas
Ralph Travis Eubanks was born October 22, 1920 at Cecil, Franklin Co., Ar. to
James Claude & Columbia Meeks Eubanks. October 31, 1943 he married
Betty Mae Carty of Mulberry, Crawford, Ar. The marriage was in Sebastian Co.,
Ar. By 1930 the family was living at Island, Sebastian Co., Ar.
February 16, 1942 Ralph registered for the military draft at Fort Smith, Sebastian
Co., Ar. August 7, 1942 he enlisted in the US Marines. He served until
May 10, 1946. More about his service can be found in his biography and obituary
below.
Ralph Travis Eubanks passed away July 31, 2007. His burial was in
New Mulberry Cemetery in Mulberry, Crawford Co., Ar.
Biography from Fighting Men of Arkansas
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 2, 2007
Pensacola News Journal
Pensacola, Florida 8/2/2007
DR. RALPH T. EUBANKS
1920 - 2007
Dr. Ralph T. Eubanks of Little Rock passed away Tuesday, July 31, 2007.
Born October 22, 1920, at Cecil, Arkansas, the career speech communications
professor led a rich life that began on a farm in western Arkansas and included
service as a Marine during World Ward II, numerous college degrees and notoriety
as one of the most respected scholars in the field of speech and public address.
His freshman year of college and the University of Arkansas was interrupted by
World War II. He joined the United States Marine Corps and served his
country in the Southwest Pacific as a Sergeant with VMF124, 1st Squadron of
the F4U-1 Corsairs. He was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant at Quantico, Virginia,
October 1944, and trained as a platoon leader with the 4th Marine Division at
Camp Tarawa, Hawaii, for "Operation Olympia," the United States invasion of
the Japanese homeland. He was honorably discharged in 1946 with the rank of Captain.
He finished his delayed undergraduate degree at the University of Arkansas in 1949,
and earned his Master's degree and PhD from the University of Florida at Gainesville.
He served as a professor of Communication Arts at the University of Arkansas for 15
years and as a guest professor at LSU, Henderson State, University College-Dublin,
Ireland and Florida State University's Florence, Italy Campus. For 20 years, he was
a professor at the University of West Florida. He was founder and chairman of the
Department of Communication Arts and for two years was Dean of Alpha College, UWF's
College of Arts and Sciences.
He authored and co-authored several college textbooks and numerous articles on public
speaking and rhetoric. Honors and memberships included Phi Beta Kappa, Acacia Fraternity,
outstanding instructor at the University of West Florida (twice), president of the Southern
Speech Communications Association, editor of the Southern Speech Journal and emeritus professor
of the Communication Arts at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock.
He was a lifelong supporter of University of Arkansas Razorbacks and enjoyed an intimate
relationship with University of Arkansas athletics that included speech writing for Coach
Frank Broyles, friendships with assistant coaches and taking a special interest in the many
athletes who enrolled in his classes.
He is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, Betty; two children, Linda E. Umphress of Cordova,
Tennessee and Ralph C. Eubanks of Little Rock, AR; their spouses, Joe Umphress and Margo Eubanks;
two grandchildren, Ashley Umphress Ward and James Rogers Eubanks; two great-grandchildren, Hayden
and Avery Ward; sisters, Emogene Crawford of Sedona, Arizona, Lois Lee of Fort Smith, AR, Faye White
of Pacific Palisades, California; and a brother, Claude Eubanks of Fort Smith, AR.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Claude and Columbia Eubanks and his sister, Mildred McCabe.
The funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, August 3, 2007 at Second Presbyterian Church
in Little Rock with the Reverend Steve Hancock, the Reverend Jim Miller, and the Reverend Robert
Lowery officiating.
Graveside service will be at 3:00 p.m., at the New Cemetery, Mulberry, Arkansas.
The family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m., Thursday at Roller-Chenal
Funeral Home (501)224-8300.
Lasting memorials may be made to the charity of the donor's choice.
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