Obituary of Ralph Steven Sherwood

Ralph Steven “Rotton Ralph” Sherwood died, surrounded by his wife and caregivers, at home on February 9, 2025 in Moorpark, California at the age of 76 after a long illness. 

Ralph is survived by his wife, Patti Sherwood of Moorpark; his son by a prior marriage, Steven of Indiana, an ex-wife Karen, and other relatives scattered between California and Texas and Illinois. He is preceded in death by his parents and brother Jeff, along with sons John Sherwood and Daniel Sherwood both of Moorpark. 

Ralph was born on July 24, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois to Ralph C. and Rosemary Sherwood. He married Karen Tobin in the early 70’s and together they had a son, Steven. Ralph was a biker – riding motorcycles since the age of 15. He was an iron worker after graduating high school and worked on the construction of the Sears Tower in Chicago. He later owned and operated a disco – and lived a pretty colorful life of adventure – riding his motorcycle whenever he could. This lifestyle did not suit his marriage – and he left the Midwest and ventured west. After moving to Cottonwood, Arizona, Ralph worked on small construction jobs and met his soon to be second wife, Patti, in Jerome, Arizona. Biker meeting hippy girl. Together they left Arizona for California in 1977 in hope of finding better employment. He worked on the iron again in Los Angeles – and later changed trades to commercial plumbing on new developments as part of the build up of Cucamonga and other projects in Orange County and San Bernadino. He was diagnosed with a degenerative spine disease in 1986 which plagued him the rest of his life. 

He and Patti had two sons born in the 1980s - John and Danny. The family moved to Ventura County in 1994. He was very proud of his sons – and deeply mourned their passing. John suffered an accident at college in Hawaii in 2000, where a balcony railing on the 11th floor of his university housing broke, sending him to his death. Danny was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2014. 

Ralph was a Jack of all trades – and was happiest working on home improvements from plumbing to painting to tile work to gardening. He was especially proud of his cactus garden in the front yard. Most of all, he loved riding motorcycles. He had an engaging personality and could liven up any gathering.  He was an active and dedicated member of the Elks Lodge and often volunteered at Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks Lodges. He was an Elks member for 25 years and served as an officer at Simi Lodge from 2008-2011. He was a California gubernatorial candidate in 2003 but lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was very active in supporting political candidates he admired. He worked with Elton Gallegly’s team during several of his campaigns. He was also proud of being a contributor to the building of the Reagen Library Air Force One exhibit. 

A viewing is scheduled from 5-9 pm at Rose Family Funeral Home on Feb 25, 2025. A funeral is scheduled for 10:30 am on Feb 26,2025 at St. Paschal Baylon Church, with Rite of Christian Burial to follow at Assumption Cemetery in Simi Valley. A reception will be held from 1:00-4:00 pm at Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Rotton Ralph’s life. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Moorpark College John and Daniel Sherwood Scholarship at 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark Ca 93021 or City of Hope at giving@coh.org. 

The family would like to thank the clinic staff and doctors at City of Hope in Thousand Oaks, the caregivers at Partners in Care, the staff at Simi Valley Adventist Hospital and UGC hospice group for their care and support.