FERN’S Former Digital Engagement Director, Ralph Loglisci Jr., passes
It is with great sadness that I report that Ralph Loglisci Jr., FERN’s former Director of Digital Engagement & Outreach, passed away on Friday. He died from complications stemming from injuries received in a pedestrian-automobile accident in San Francisco in October 2014. He was 44 years old.
Ralph, who we counted as a close friend at FERN, had long been involved in food issues as a communications specialist and had been an adviser to us long before he came aboard first as a board member and subsequently as an employee working on social media, both on our web site and with FERN’s media partners.
Prior to joining FERN, Ralph had worked on communications for Slow Food USA and also for Wholesome Wave. He had been a television reporter early in his career. Among his proudest accomplishments was working with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future (CLF), where he ran the national Meatless Monday campaign. He had gotten involved in food issues after he lost 200 pounds through diet and exercise and subsequently worked with the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production. Extremely health conscious, he still loved the occasional beer and burger and remained an avid runner until his accident.
Ralph had an especially sunny disposition, which is what I’ll miss most. Regardless of the stress of a looming deadline, he always had a smile on his face. And he always got the job done, regardless of the task. It was that combination of professionalism, deep understanding of food issues and optimism that made him especially well-liked wherever he worked. He will be missed deeply by his colleagues at FERN and elsewhere. We are talking with a number of people and organizations about ways to commemorate Ralph. Details on that will be forthcoming.
A memorial service will be held for Ralph, Saturday, January 16, 2016 at 3:00 PM at the DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith & Boyd Funeral Home, Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania.