Ralph H. Kolstoe

Ralph Hertsgaard Kolstoe died January 1, 2020 in Grand Forks, ND.  He was born September 10, 1926 in Valley City, ND to Soren and Inger (Hertsgaard) Kolstoe.  Ralph graduated from High School at the Valley City Teachers College Training School (now Valley City State University – VCSU).  He enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and was discharged as an electrical technician, 2^nd class, in 1945 after a tour in China.  He graduated from VCSU with a B.S. in Education, then an M.S. in Psychology from the University of North Dakota (UND).  He received his Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Psychology in 1953 from Washington State University.  Ralph was a member of the EBC Society while at VCSU.

Ralph’s WWII experience in Naval electronics led to a position as a Research Scientist with George Washington University in the Human Resources Research Office (HumRRO) in Washington, DC.  In four years with HumRRO, Ralph traveled the world testing radar officers in the military.  But Ralph was interested in teaching and accepted a position in the Psychology Department at UND in 1957 where he remained until retirement in 1990.  He spent 16 years as department chair, went on a sabbatical leave in 1974-5 at the University of Bergen, Norway, and wrote a text Statistics in the Behavioral Sciences.  He founded the Psychology Club in 1961, which became a chapter of the Psi Chi National Honorary Society.  He received the Outstanding Teaching Award in 1965, the Alumni Association Charles de Bryn Kops Faculty Award for Teaching.  He was elected President of the North Dakota Psychological Association and to the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association,  for whom he also served as an Accreditation Surveyor.  He helped establish the North Dakota Psychologist licensure law and served on the licensing board, including as President, for nearly two decades.  At UND he was on numerous committees, served in the University Senate, and was Faculty Representative to the State Board of Higher Education.  During the summer months, Ralph attended the National Science Seminars at the University of North Carolina, University of Florida, and Stanford.  Former students established the Ralph Kolstoe Colloquium Endowment Fund to benefit the Psychology Department through the UND Foundation (memorials may be directed to the family and will be given in his name to this fund).

Ralph and Carolyn Ruth Cockle were married in Hope, ND in 1947.  They spent a year teaching at White Earth, MN, where he was also principal of the elementary school.  With each major move another son was born.

Ralph is survived by his wife, Carolyn;  his brother, John; sons,  David (Sheila), John (Gail) and Paul (Kari);   8 grandchildren,  Simon (Abbie), Katanya (Philip) Prior, Erica (Ron) Elwell, Elizabeth (Brad) Mackowick, Evan (Daphne), Laura (Travis) Vaughn, Alex (Amanda), and Aidan;  and 11 great grand children.  He is preceded in death by son Mark, grandson Matthew, and siblings Oliver (Bud), Marian Prior, and Martin.

Ralph and his family were active in the Federated Church, Grand Forks, and the United Church of Marco Island, Florida; they were active members of both church choirs.  Ralph served as Moderator of the Federated church during their rebuilding years.  They moved into Parkwood Retirement Home just before he moved to Valley Senior Living on Columbia.  Summers were spent at the Grace Lake home near Bemidji, MN built by Ralph and his sons beginning in 1962.  Since retirement, winters have been spent at their Marco Island, Florida condo.  They have traveled extensively to all 50 states and respective national parks, and have taken 13 cruises through Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii, Panama Canal, and Alaska.

Memorial Services will be 3:00 p.m. Sunday, January 12, 2020 in Amundson Funeral Home, 2975 S. 42^nd St., Grand Forks.  Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service in the funeral home.