Ralph F. Iula dies

Former derby director, head of Beacon promotions
Ralph Iula succumbs to Alzheimer's; Akron area, charities, journalism students, young competitors lose good friend

By Jewell Cardwell Beacon Journal staff writer
The Beacon Journal and the Akron area have lost one of their biggest cheerleaders.

Ralph Iula died Tuesday at Maison Aine Specialized Alzheimer's Center in Stow.

Over the years, Mr. Iula wore many promotions hats over his trademark jet-black hair. He headed the newspaper's efforts in the All-American Soap Box Derby, the Beacon Journal Spelling Bee and the Beacon Journal Charity Fund.

Mr. Iula was hired at the newspaper in June 1954 as the promotions manager. A month later, he became the Beacon Journal derby director, a job he held for 20 years, said son Jeff Iula, now the derby's general manager. ``He's why I got hooked on the derby.''

Bill Ford became Mr. Iula's first derby champ when he won in 1970. Now a salesman in Austin, Texas, Ford said Wednesday he remembers Mr. Iula fondly.

``I could tell even from a young age that he was extremely intelligent and very well-read. While my family would go off to exotic vacations like Detroit, they were going off to Europe and all points in between.''

Ford said he never saw Mr. Iula lose his cool under the pressure of derby activities, even with as many 600 kids around.

``But what I remember most about him was his ever-present cigar,'' Ford recalled.

Mr. Iula was one of the people who helped to revive the derby after a cheating scandal in 1974 caused Chevrolet to end its sponsorship. He was inducted into the Soap Box Derby Hall of Fame in 1999.

Mr. Iula also ran the Beacon Journal Spelling Bee for 30 years years, making it the biggest one in the country. He had the national champion in 1964 -- Billy Kerek of Cuyahoga Falls, who is today Dr. William Kerek, a physician at Akron City Hospital.

Mr. Iula received degrees from Butler University and Northwestern University, but he began his journalism career at age 14.

``That's when he started Jerry's Journal newspaper, which he sold in his Indiana neighborhood,'' Jeff Iula said.

His professional career began at the Indianapolis Star, where he was a sports writer for three years. He worked another year at a newspaper in Evansville, Ind.

He also taught journalism at the University of Akron from 1968 to 2000.

Although he continued to write, Mr. Iula's greatest contribution was in promotions.

For 31 years, he ran the Beacon Journal's Thanksgiving trip to New York City, which at its peak drew 300 tourists. Traveling was one of his passions, and he visited 77 countries.

Mr. Iula also was executive director of the Beacon Journal Charity Fund from 1986 to 1996, serving as secretary-treasurer for years before that.

He ran the newspaper's Bowling Classic, which was the fourth-largest local tournament in the nation.

Jeff Iula said his father made his children promise never to reveal his age.

Besides Jeff, Mr. Iula is survived by another son, Jay of Cuyahoga Falls, who was his caregiver for eight years; and a daughter, Jerri Roberts of Indianapolis; five grandchildren and two great-grandsons.

Calling hours for Mr. Iula will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Clifford-Shoemaker Funeral Home, 1930 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, where the funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday.
[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Thursday, November 23, 2006, page B1]

Classified obit appears on page B10, col. 3