1917 – 1989
Married: Jeanne Justice
2 Children
On April 12, 1917, Ralph McKee was born in Wilson County to Tom and Byrdie Knox McKee. Following the declining health of his grandparents, Alex and Martha Haley McKee, his parents, an older sister and Ralph returned to the 413 acre farm purchased by his grandparents in 1877. The family home was constructed from timber harvested from the farm and remains the center of the farm now honored as one Tennessee’s Century Farms, having remained in continuous operation for more than 100 years by the McKee family. Ralph graduated from Central High School in Murfreesboro in 1936 and completed his Bachelor of Science degree at Tennessee State Teachers College (now MTSU) in 1940. Following graduation, he was drafted into military service. He served four years during WWII with most of the time being spent in Reykjavick, Iceland at Base Command. In 1944, Ralph married Jeanne Justice and they had two children, Carol and Ralph, Jr. Following his military discharge, Ralph and Jeanne bought a farm in the Milton community where he served in numerous leadership roles for the Milton Community Improvement Club. He attended and served as a Ruling Elder of the Hopewell Presbyterian Church in the Milton Community. In the early 1950’s, Ralph and Jeanne purchased his parent’s family farm where he and his brother continued to farm the land and do custom farm work in the community and in surrounding communities. At the age of 44, Ralph suffered a catastrophic illness, the residuals of which terminated his active participation in farming activities and necessitated the land be used for cattle and hog farming. In the early 1970’s, Ralph, Jr. and his wife, Opal, changed the operation to an active dairy farm and Ralph, Sr. began a new career as the first Executive Director of the Wilson County Water and Waste Water Authority, where he served until his retirement. He was a member of the Wilson County Court (Commission) for 27 years. Ralph was a leader of the Agricultural Committee of the County court which was instrumental in securing land and funding for the James E. Ward Agricultural Center. Ralph McKee passed away on December 21, 1989.
