Mr. Ralph B. McLawhon, 73, died December 1, 2009 in Aiken after a lengthy battle with cancer. He came to Aiken in 2007 and formerly resided in Parrish, FL, and Tillamook, OR. He was born September 9, 1936 in Panama City, FL to the late George B. McLawhon and Dorothy Williams McLawhon Cucchiari and moved to Port St. Joe when he was two. His mother and stepfather moved the family to Elephant Point, AK when he was thirteen, where she taught in an Alaskan Native Services school. He graduated from high school in Sitka, AK. He was a Staff Sergeant in the Washington National Guard and the US Army in Germany. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in mathematics and completed a year of graduate work. He was a graduate of the Systems Research Institute in New York City. He worked for forty years in computers, mostly in aerospace and the finance industry and specialized in database/data communications systems. He was past president of the Portland, OR chapter of the Data Processing management Association. He enjoyed travel, scuba diving, underwater photography, and whitewater rafting. He was a member of the River Wilderness Golf and Country Club in Parrish, FL, and The Reserve Club at Woodside in Aiken. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Survivors include his wife of thirty six years, Carol Dearing McLawhon, his stepmother Audra McLawhon of Port St. Joe, FL; daughters Pamela McLawhon of Glen Ridge, NJ; Maria Rogers of Plano, TX; and Bonnie McLawhon of Los Angeles, CA; a sister, Mary Becker, of Douglas, AK, a half-sister, Edith McLawhon of Port St. Joe, FL; half-brothers, George McLawhon of Mexico Beach, FL; Michael McLawhon of Tellico Plains, TN; and Donald McLawhon, of Panama City, FL. He had five grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 11am at George Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 211 Park Ave, SW, Aiken with Rev. Christopher Crotwell of South Aiken Presbyterian Church officiating. Interment will follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 10am until the hour of service at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be directed to the American Cancer Society, 128 Stonemark Ln, Columbia, SC, 29210