Ralph W. Kiewit, Jr., a longtime resident of the Malibu Colony, died peacefully at his home with his wife Oralee Kiewit at his side Aug. 4.
Kiewit was born on Aug. 15, 1921 in Omaha, Neb., where his family, led by paternal uncle Peter Kiewit, created one of the country’s most eminent construction companies. In 1931, Kiewit’s parents moved the family to Southern California, where Kiewit graduated from Santa Monica High School and then Stanford University.
Kiewit later started his own construction company, building Southern California landmarks, including the Union Bank building in Sherman Oaks and the Shorecliff Towers in Santa Monica, as well as the San Souci in Waikiki and Hotel Bora Bora in French Polynesia.
As a Santa Monica lifeguard, Kiewit was part of Southern California’s beach culture in the 1930s and ’40s and became a pioneer surfer in Malibu and other prominent areas.
Kiewit married Oralee Abrams in 1947. During World War II, he served in the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel, seeding a passion for flying that carried through his life. Kiewit spent time flying his own jet until he retired as a pilot when he was 87 years old.
The Kiewits had one son, John S. Kiewit, who died in 2000.
Kiewit is survived by his lifelong love Oralee.
Memorial donations can be made to the John S. Kiewit Memorial Foundation, which is dedicated to conserving the natural and rural integrity of the central California coast. Donations can be addressed to: Kiewit Memorial Fund, c/o Price, Postel & Parma LLP, Attn. David W. van Horne, PO Box 99, Santa Barbara, CA