Ralph was born in 1935 in Kansas City, Missouri, the only child of Ralph G. and Emma Niemann Warburton. As a student at Central High School, he was awarded a trophy for outstanding work as Battalion Commander of the ROTC. He was also a member of the Honor Society. While working part time in an architectural office, he was inspired to become an architect.
With a bachelor of architecture degree from MIT and two master’s degrees from Yale University, Ralph was also a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, licensed Civil Engineer, and City Planner in Florida and in eight states including the District of Columbia. At the M.I.T. graduation ceremony, he received a traveling fellowship from the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, later working for their offices in New York City and Chicago. At Yale, upon graduation, Ralph received the William E. Parsons Medal.
Ralph became Special Assistant to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Urban Design at the Height of Johnson’s “Great Society.” He held that position during both the Johnson and Nixon Administrations, working directly for Secretaries Weaver and Romney. He left HUD in 1972 to become a tenured professor of architecture at the University of Miami and continued to consult to the Nixon, Ford and Carter Administrations. He maintained a private consulting practice for over twenty-five years in Miami, Florida and often testified as an expert witness in cases involving architecture, engineering and city planning.
Ralph was a wonderful husband of 55 years to his wife, Carol Hychka Warburton, father of John G. Warburton and Joy Warburton Tracey, grandfather, of Kelly and Robert Tracey and Mark D. Warburton, and cousin to Doris Bachmann Lohner. The family thanks Dr. Mark Lerman, chief nephrologist, and assistant Sandy Hinton of Medical City and the caring staff at the nursing facility of Legacy Willow Bend, Plano, Texas.
A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, September 15, 2013, at The Legacy of Willow Bend, 6101 Ohio Drive, Suite 500, Plano, Texas 75025.