RALPH ALLEN HAMPTON

Ralph Allen Hampton was born on February 28, 1961, in Decatur County, IA. He was the youngest of Frank and Maxcine Jane (Smith) Hampton’s ten children. He died at the Mount Ayr Health Care Center in Mount Ayr, IA on Thursday, January 21, 2021.
He was a bona fide farm boy, preferring boots and a cowboy hat over any other type of clothing. The family lived on farms near Garden Grove, Lamoni and Davis City, IA. Ralph was a Down’s Syndrome fellow, warm, trusting, sometimes humorous and loving to everyone. In 1987, Ralph became one of the original residents of the newly formed Ringgold County Group Home in Mount Ayr, IA where he lived for 32 years. Five days a week, Ralph, along with his friends at the group home, spent the day at Ringgold County Supportive Services where Ralph made many more friends. He entered into all the activities there, especially bingo, bowling, trash card game and participating in the plays and musicals where he sang, “Singing In the Rain”. He loved to listen to music; anything by the group, Vocal Trash and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” were his favorites. He loved to see people, go to the Iowa State Fair, eat out, and attend church with his group home family. He liked looking “handsome”, enjoyed his longtime roommate, Alan Force, and always had a smile, a hug and a kiss for his family and friends.
He transferred to the Mount Ayr Health Care Center in 2019. He quickly adapted to the change and accepted the staff as his new family. His friends from the group home and RCSS visited him often at his new residence.
He will be sorely missed by all his friends. Ralph leaves seven brothers and sisters, Guy (Jeannine) Hampton, Leon; Mary (Wayne) Williams, Corydon; Robert Hampton, Decatur; Dorthy Rising, Safety Harbor, FL; Stephen (Diane) Hampton, Culbertson, MT; Joyce (Bill) Shackleford, Des Moines, IA and John (Sandy) Hampton, Camdenton, MO; and many nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death were his parents; and brothers, Frank and Dennis Hampton.
Due to the pandemic, a celebration of life will be held at a later date this summer.
Arrangements were through the Slade – O’Donnell Funeral Home in Leon, IA.