Toward Life's Sunset: A Memoir by J. Ralph De Coste

Ralph De Coste was one of five children born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and times were challenging. His father was a WWI veteran and struggled as a binge drinker. His mother was a loving woman who tried to keep her siblings together. She married Ralph's father at age 16. From an early age Ralph delivered morning papers, became a telegraph messenger and a clerk. As a boy he was an altar server in the Catholic Church, an army cadet, and quit school in grade 10.

Heading to the beach one day he saw a sign that said "Join the Canadian Army". He enlisted and served over 35 years in the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE). He trained in Petawawa, at the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering (RCSME) in Chilliwack and then in Wainwright. He sailed on a troop ship to Korea and served in the Korean War and then the Armistice of July 27, 1953. He was favourably impressed with the South Korean people while in Korea and enjoyed a lifelong friendship with them.

Serving with the RCE, he was posted to Camp Chilliwack in 1954 where he met and married Eva Besse, the love of his life! The adventures continued with the birth of their five children and postings all across Canada. While working and being a very busy father, Ralph studied correspondence courses and graduated from high school. He taught army engineers at Chilliwack and was commissioned from ranks. He later served on a NATO committee in Germany for over 8 years. He became an Engineering Technologist in BC. He joined the Korean War Veterans Association of Canada (KVA Inc.) and served at the Unit, Provincial and National levels. He retired from the military as a Major in 1986.

He worked as a Coroner for over 7 years with the Province of BC which proved to be another challenging and interesting experience. After fully retiring, Ralph and Eva enjoyed years of travel to many countries around the world and met many Canadian, German and Korean friends. He continues his involvement with the RCE, the Annual Retired Sapper's Reunions and KVA Canada Inc. Since Eva's death in 2017, Ralph continues to keep busy spending time with his family and many valued friends as he travels "Toward Life's Sunset".

Ralph De Coste was born in 1930 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI) during the early days of the depression. He attended school and did well at it but in grade 10 became bored with it, so he quit and went to work at the corner grocery store. He then worked as a messenger delivering telegrams for the Canadian National Telegraph (CNT) office. He later travelled to Toronto and was hired as a floor supervisor at a Toronto firm called the Drug Trading Company. He made his way back to PEI and one day saw a sign on the local armoury which read, "Join the Canadian Army". He took intelligence and medical tests, both of which he successfully passed. Thus began a military career that would span 35 plus years. During this time he met and married a wonderful woman named Eva Besse and they had 5 children. Together Ralph, his wife Eva and their 5 children had many adventures all over Canada and abroad. After retirement from the military Ralph and Eva moved back to British Columbia. A few years later he became a Coroner and worked at this job for over 7 years before he fully retired. Ralph and his wife enjoyed an affiliation with the military and the wonderful friends they met along the way. Ralph has been a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE), the Retired Sappers Reunion for many years and continues to enjoy these friendships. He joined the Korean War Veterans Association of Canada in 1983 and he and Eva made many wonderful friends as a result. Ralph has had a life full of adventures and learning and was blessed with a successful marriage, a wonderful family and many good friends in Canada, Korea and Europe. Ralph's wife, Eva De Coste, thought that he had an interesting trip through life and it should be recorded so their children and those later would know of his journey. Many friends and relatives agreed. Accordingly, this is his story.