Obituary of Douglas B. Ralyea

Born 10/28/1947 to the parents of Earl and Deloris Ralyea was a boy named Douglas Bryan Ralyea. He was inquisitive, constantly on the go and had a deep love and respect for Mother Nature and all Gods creatures. As he grew these attributes grew with him making his farming life a foundation for the rest of his life. Everything he did he equated to what happened naturally on the farm. As he became a young man, his desires grew encompassing the world of sports an physical education. This moved him into the world of football which he excelled at. We met in high school and fell deeply in love. We were married in his senior year and our daughter was at his graduation. He went on to college at Hillsborough Jr. College and finishing with a double major and a minor from the University of South Florida in Education. Additionally, he received the Presidents Award for Educational Excellence. His first 10 years after college he explored the Business world becoming a success in each of his endeavors. Realizing that his Education degree wasn't doing just what he wanted. He moved on into teaching. His goal was to try to fix the school system single handedly. He soon found out that it would take more than just him. Although that didn't stop him, he became a successful football coach winning 16 out of 17 championships over the course of his tenor as a head football coach at many different schools. He felt that his biggest coaching success story was taking Tampa Bay Tech High School to its first win. At that time Tampa Bay Tech was known for the longest national loosing streak, never winning a game in over ten years. Retiring from teaching and sports he settled back into his first loves as a boy, farming, fishing and enjoying Mother Nature with his animals. He never stopped teaching. We traveled and everyone he met, he would make a friend always teaching something through his stories. Now, September 8^th 2019 about 2:30 pm, he has moved on to a greater life with Our Heavenly Father, and I'm sure he is still as inquisitive as he began, farming, fishing and enjoying all that Mother Nature has to offer. My Love, you are my hero and I will miss you immensely.