# Poppa Walton \[Ralph Waite\] has died. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298 "2014-02-14T02:28:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/1 "2014-02-14T02:28:48Z")
[Ralph Waite](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/waltons-actor-ralph-waite-dies-680278) who played Poppa Walton has died. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/2 "2014-02-14T02:40:03Z")
Good Night Daddy. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/3 "2014-02-14T02:44:12Z")
Good night, Daddy. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/4 "2014-02-14T02:47:24Z")
Good Night, Daddy indeed. **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/5 "2014-02-14T02:58:03Z")
Loved him as Gibbs dad in NCIS ! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/6 "2014-02-14T03:00:23Z")
Memory is such a weird thing. He was 85, so it seems. When Will Geer died, he was 76. Geer looked 85 when the program started! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/7 "2014-02-14T03:15:49Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > Loved him as Gibbs dad in NCIS ! Has the character died already? If not, it will be addressed in the show without a doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/8 "2014-02-14T03:18:08Z")
Oh, no! He was playing in the soap “Days of Our Lives” lately. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/9 "2014-02-14T03:25:59Z")
Oh, that’s sad. I grew up in a really dysfunctional family and I used watched shows like _The Waltons_ almost as a tutorial as to what a functional family looked like. All my favorite shows and books as a kid featured strong, gentle, loving fathers. RIP, you meant a lot to this little girl. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/10 "2014-02-14T03:27:13Z")
I’ll take “People who died in 2014 who I thought had already died” for $500 Alex, to finish off the board. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/11 "2014-02-14T03:31:34Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Oh, that’s sad. I grew up in a really dysfunctional family and I used watched shows like _The Waltons_ almost as a tutorial as to what a functional family looked like. All my favorite shows and books as a kid featured strong, gentle, loving fathers. > > RIP, you meant a lot to this little girl. Aw, honey, I know exactly what you mean. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/12 "2014-02-14T03:39:20Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Aw, honey, I know exactly what you mean. ☹ Thanks. ☹ It’s amazing how important those shows were. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/13 "2014-02-14T03:40:00Z")
Yeah, I was a pretty miserable elementary school kid when that show was on. The term ‘dysfunctional’ didn’t even come close to describing my parents. I envied the Waltons, and wondered why the old folks were always yammering about how bad the Depression sucked. I would have gladly traded places with them. So who’s left now, just the kids? John-Boy must be in his sixties now. Is the mom still alive? I’ll have to go look that up. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/14 "2014-02-14T03:45:12Z")
We should start a club: Kids Raised by the John and Olivia Walton. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/15 "2014-02-14T03:53:02Z")
Mom is only 74 now and still very much alive. John-Boy is 62. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/16 "2014-02-14T04:08:27Z")
Ike died last year or the year before. I think all the kids are still living. and Mama is still living. Grandma had a stroke during the series and lived 20+ more years ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/17 "2014-02-14T04:23:24Z")
Ike was the guy who owned the general store, right? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/18 "2014-02-14T04:51:10Z")
Yes, Ike was the store owner, and married Corabeth, the Harriet Oleson clone. (almost) Ronnie Claire Edwards just turned 81 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/19 "2014-02-14T04:53:51Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > Ike was the guy who owned the general store, right? Yes. Joe Conley died last year at the age of 85. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298/20 "2014-02-14T05:09:55Z")
You know, I barely remember the show, but one scene which has stuck in my mind all these years had John-Boy going into the general store and asking him if he could use the phone. Ike agreed, and John-Boy walked over to the wall phone and stared at it for a good ten to fifteen seconds. Ike glanced over and said something like “what’s the problem?” John-Boy turned to Ike and said in a visibly embarrassed tone “I don’t know how it works.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppa-walton-ralph-waite-has-died/681298.md?page=2)