Ralph Cestero Passed Away

Actually, our dear, dear friend Ralph passed away back on December 27. A one-of-a-kind true gentleman, class act, and just about every and any superlative you can think of in describing a FRIEND. Sadly missed, but oh, those memories of times spent together......!!!

Here is a link to his memorial site:

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/north-palm-beach-fl/ralph-cestero-9971591?utm_source=obit_alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=obit_detail&utm_content=view_updates_button

 

Yes, I had heard of his passing back in December from Steve. R.I.P.
He was one of the best, always a pleasure to be around.
If memory serves me, he want to work for Ferrari of West Palm shortly after leaving FOW.

 

I remember one day I dropped by FoW to see him and he was busy doing something but when he came out to the showroom he saw me checking out a Verde Ithaca LP640. He said "want to take it for a test drive" I told him it was out of my price range and he replied "so what". So needless to say we went for about a 45 minute test drive, we even tried to get into Redskins camp with it lol. We had stayed in contact right up to his passing, I'm going to miss you Ralph!

 

Sorry to hear. Condolences to his family.

CW

 

Also from his wife Maureen it was not Covid related.

 

Dude I met Ralph in 1990 when Lexus of Alexandria opened on Quaker Lane and King Street. I had just graduated from West Springfield High School and was working for a auto paint company on Eisenhower Ave. Ralph was at the right place at the right time when it boiled down to luxury imports. Summer 1990 the Lexus was hot and Ralph had an inventory of trade-ins for the LS-400. I did auto body and paint work for him. I'm age 50 now, but I remember working for Ralph Cestero in 1990 when I was 19. Together we only took on jobs that would turn out magic.

 

Very sad news. Ralph was always kind and so knowledgeable.

 

In 1990 when I was 19, Ralph was age 34.....
Ralph Cestero was a made guy. That summer evening 1990 a customer traded in a black '88 Vette convertible for a 1990 Lexus LS400. Ralph wouldnt give me the keys to the vette. He said, " The vette is a rattle-trap".

 

One morning I parked my work van behind the dealership, and after an hour of idling the engine, Ralph knocked on the driver side until I'd wake up.

 

This is sad news. I met him in college when I cold called FoW to ask for assistance with a campus car show.

He was always fun, very friendly and professional. We kept in touch for many years at various FCA events.

 

Man, this one hurts... I got to work and learn from Ralph when at FoW Classic (2005-2009.) Not only a great representative of exotics, but dude was just a smiling hoot to be around. Even before the parties!

So many stories and I learned so much from him... Most favorite was having the keys to a trade-in 330GT tossed to me and him saying take 'it out and learn.' I drove our long circuit and when I came back we sat for another few hours and talked about how great the Vintage cars are. Led to me helping to originate the Classiche dept at FoW and getting to spend time with even more dreams.

Then there was the time (before me) that a car on a test drive had to be hastily put on the lift and partially disassembled to prove that it WASNT the one that the cops were following...

One thing people forget is he was a EXCELLENT and pretty dang fearless driver. Many a customer came back a little shaky after a ride around our (then mostly unpatrolled) local circuit. Rode a lot on the track with him as well in his Maserati GT and learned even more.

Godspeed Ralph. You were a good friend.

-Brian