Funeral services for Mr. Ralph O. Pekkala will be private The family will receive friends Wednesday, August 28, 2002 from 6?8 PM at the funeral home. Mr. Pekkala, 85, of Aiken, SC, husband of Mrs. Dorothy Frazer Pekkala, died Sunday, evening, August 25, 2002 at Aiken Regional Medical Centers. Born in Maynard, MA, a son of the late Weikko Pekkala and the late Ida Katherine Pekkala, he made Aiken, SC his home in 1952, when he came to work with E.I. DuPont and retired after thirty years of service as a Chemical Engineer. A veteran of World War II he proudly served in the 82 ND. Airborne Division of the United States Army where he received the rank of Captain and was awarded a Parachute Badge, American Theater Ribbon, and the World War II Victory Medal. Mr. Pekkala was a graduate of Penn State University and a member of St. John?s United Methodist Church, Aiken, SC. He had been very active in BoyScouts of America and also his church. In addition to his wife, of fifty-five years, Dorothy F. Pekkala, sons, Stephen Pekkala, Aiken, SC, and Michael Pekkala, Tampa, FL; daughters, LuAnne Comer, Aiken, SC, and Kathy Hodan, Albany, GA; sister, Lillian Pekkala, ME; brother, David Pekkala, Lowell, MA; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild, survive. At the request of the family, in lieu of flowers, please make memorials in memory of Mr. Pekkala to, St. John?s United Methodist Church, 104 Newberry St., NW, Aiken, SC 29801.