He served as a B-29 flight engineer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
[1] He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1950.
He founded Belcan, an engineering services corporation, in October 1958.
Ruth and Ralph Anderson had one daughter, Candace McCaw of Cincinnati.
Mr. Anderson also contributed significantly to his home community of Harrodsburg, Ky., including state park development, historic building renovations, community development, and upgrading site knowledge of an important Shaker village including satellite mapping.