Ralph Bieber

Ralph G. Bieber, age 92, born June 7, 1918 in Columbus, OH to Ralph E. and Flossie Bieber, passed away Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at the home of his daughter and son-in-law with family around him. Preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Jean, in April of this year. Survived by daughters, Karen Downing, Gail (Bill) Cope, and Sue (Jeff) Rowe; grandchildren, Matt (Trish) Downing, Mark (Shelly) Downing, Amy (John) Collier, David Rowe, Amanda Rowe, Angela Rowe, Heather Cope and Adam Cope; seven great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Doris Bieber and Carol Bieber; nieces and nephews Graduate of West High School and The Ohio State University in 1940 and obtained a Master’s degree in 1956 from OSU. Retired from Columbus State Community College as a Media Specialist. Ralph spent most of his life on the Hilltop. Ralph and Jean were married in 1942 at Hillcrest Baptist Church where they were members for years. Over his life time, he also attended Lincoln Baptist Church, Cypress Wesleyan Church, and Life in Christ Fellowship. His last years were spent attending Faith Community Church, a church plant started by son-in-law, Jeff and daughter, Sue Rowe on the Hilltop. His love of movies began when he was a boy. He began working at neighborhood theatres at a young age including the Avondale, Westmont, the Ritz, and the Rivoli on the Hilltop. Later years, he worked at the Knickerbocker on S High Street, the Empress Theatre on Long Street and the Pythian theatre which is now the Martin Luther King Center. Ralph was a projectionist at the Riverside Drive-In, which was the first drive-in in Columbus. He also spent many years as a projectionist at the 3C Drive- In on the west side. In his later years, he worked for CAPA and eventually became the projectionist for The Ohio Theatre. His teaching career, as an industrial arts teacher, began in Lee’s Creek and Sabina, OH and then Gahanna and Pataskala and finally at Columbus Public Schools (Berry, Westmoor, Hilltonia Jr High Schools). He also spent many years with The Ohio State University Dept. of Motion Pictures, filming a variety of projects, including the OSU football and basketball teams and the OSU band. Family will receive friends Sunday from 4-7 pm at THE TIDD FUNERAL HOME 5265 Norwich St. Hilliard. Funeral service will be held Monday at 11am with visitation one hour prior to the service. Services conducted by Rev. Jeff Rowe. Contributions may be made to Faith Community Church, (renovation fund) 2637 Sullivant Ave. Columbus, OH 43204. Interment Sunset Cemetery.