Ralph Jacob "Jake" Altomare

Heaven is a real place and that is where Jacob is right now at this moment, with Jesus. He is alive. Just like any other place we can see; a beach in Hawaii , a mountain top in Colorado, or a green beautiful NW rain forest and we will go there in an instant. It will seem all too soon when it happens. It's just us left behind having to carry the sorrow of losing our son and your brother Jake. On this day, 9/11/18, there are thousands of families carrying the same sorrow for the loss of their sons, daughters, brothers or sisters due to the long war on terror.



9/11 had a huge impact on Jake. He was a sophomore at Bellevue High School at the time. The entire school participated in a memorial exercise to paint wall tiles and put them up on the wall for all those that came after them to "Never Forget". Jake wanted to do something more even as a sophomore in high school. His desire to serve in the US Army surfaced after he attended his Grandfather's funeral in Albuquerque, New Mexico in September, 2007. The military honors service inspired Jake to join up and go fight our enemies – on the Ground in the US Army Infantry.



Ralph Jacob Altomare was born on 8/9/1985 in Chandler, Arizona. He was the firstborn son of Ralph and Debbie Altomare. To us, as parents, all his life Jake was the perfect child. Totally in character with being the first born of a family that had four children each born two years apart.



Jake's sister, Jessica and brothers ,Taylor and David will tell you he was the absolute "best big brother " they could ever have. Not only was he a great first born son, he was a fun loving kid that always – from pre-school on - befriended the new kid in school. Many of his best friends came from the minorities, under-privileged, and kids from unfortunate families. He took these kids in as a friend so naturally that we just thought that was he loved to do. Then Jake met Jesus and he wanted everyone else he knew to know that Jesus loved them too. Along with his sister, Jessica, they became the evangelists of the first and second grade classes at Grace Christian school.



Everyone loved Jake. He was the oldest in his class being born in August and was the biggest kid in the class. No one would dare mess with one of Jakes less than fortunate friends. His classmates sense of belonging was very important to him and he loved protecting his friends.



We left the Arizona desert to move to the cool, green, rainy northwest for exactly those reasons, we just couldn't take the heat of the desert any longer. So we moved to the Great Northwest and arrived in August of 1997.



For the next 21 years Jake met and made his lifelong friends in school and in the US Army. Jake loved to go dove hunting in Arizona with me starting at 6 years old. Then we would go the range and shoot the .22 that his Grandpa bought in 1959 and used to hunt squirrels to feed his family.



Jake loved the range, but as a kid growing up in the 90's, he gravitated towards video games. He traded his passion for shooting live ammo for shooting Virtual Ammo with the play station video Game, "007 Goldeneye". Then, Snowboarding met his need to get outdoors in the winter.



Football followed in the Fall through his sophomore year at Bellevue High School. Since his brothers Taylor and David followed his lead in football the family activities took place on the Bellevue practice fields. When Jake wasn't playing football he was wrestling or supporting others and befriending the new kids in high school.



Then came 9/11/2001 and Jake was engaged with our country's great cry; to end terrorist attacks on the land that nourishes and sustains the people he loved. That was the seed that was planted in his soul – to rid us of enemies that changed all of our lives on that clear fall day in September. At the time of the attacks, we couldn't know what 9/11 would do to our youth until the outpouring of new recruits and war reports dominated the news cycles.



Jake was an outstanding soldier too. An expert marksman and combat warrior. He lead his recon team through one year of Hell in Iraq every day. In the midst of flies and smell of death all around them his team prevailed on every mission.



None of us here today will ever know what Jake and his buddies saw and experienced. We know he was hit by and IED and his vehicle destroyed. We know Jake lost his hearing in his right ear and, we know he suffered terrible nightmares and was afraid to sleep for the past 9 years. All this time not a one of us, his Family and friends ever heard a complaint or, boasting of heroism, for his service to his family, friends in the United States of America.



Jake was very close to his grandparents. "Pop Pop" and "Grandma Jo" loved him so much. They visited him many times when he was a baby. Jakes "Pop Pop" is a US Navy veteran with 31 years of service that spanned WWII, Korea and Vietnam wars. Pop was Jakes Hero. They loved each other like only a grandfather and grandson can.



Jake is survived by his parents, sister Jessica,31, and brothers, Taylor, 29, David, 27, Grandmother, Betty Cowling Bishop, 84 of Deatsville, AL and his aunts, uncles and cousins in the South, Midwest and South West whom he loved very much.



Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for his friends". We look forward with you, his beloved friends, to seeing him with Jesus in Heaven. Jake gave his life for his family and country to secure our homes and land, just as he did as a child and friend to the new kid in school.