Ralph Denton Maurer

Ralph Denton Maurer, born September 22,1942, in Reading, PA, passed away on March 11, 2026 at the age of 83. He was predeceased by his parents, Ralph Daniel Maurer and Leona (Wentzel) Maurer. He is survived by his wife and soulmate of 58 years, Patricia (Burkhart) Maurer; three children, son Scott Maurer and wife Nancy (Hess) Maurer, daughter Tracey (Maurer) Levering, and daughter Christina (Maurer) Seyfert; six grandchildren, Benjamin Maurer, Christopher Culbert, Tanner Levering, Lily Seyfert, Symon Seyfert, and Noelle Seyfert. Ralph owned and operated several businesses, Ralph the Train Guy, Ralph the Bulb Guy, and Ralph the Building Supply Guy.

Ralph was born and raised in Pennside and graduated Exeter High School in 1960. Ralph married his wife and soulmate on November 11, 1967. They met in a small grocery store at 300 S. 17th Street, right down the street from where he owned the garage he bought to work on cars with his friends. Her parents owned a house right up the street. Ralph and Pat had three children that they raised in the very same house where they first met. After they had their first child, Pat urged Ralph to put up a train layout for their son, which rekindled his love of Lionel trains so much he opened a Toy Train store called Ralph the Train Guy. The train store in their house was in the very room they met. He and his wife Pat and occasionally the kids began going to train meets all over the tri-state area selling at the meets and using that income to buy buy trains for his collection. During all this time Ralph was renovating their home and he bought building materials at Comley’s auctions in Philadelphia. He decided to sell what he didn’t use at a garage he rented on Mulberry street in Reading on Friday evenings and had so much response he decided to open a store which he called Ralph the Building Supply Guy at 613 N. 3rd St and which later moved to 650 Spring Street. While all this was happening , Ralph and two friends started running the Hamburg Dutch train meet at the Hamburg field house which started in June 1972 and then expanded to four shows a year but ended after 52 years in December 2023 when Hamburg decided no longer to lease the building . He and his wife continued buying and selling at train meets and on eBay. They were married 58 years and spent most of their time together. When they weren’t working together or attending train meets, they were having fun with friends playing cards or watching movies in his train room or just seeing the world through You Tube. He will be sorely missed by his soulmate Pat, his kids, his grandchildren and his many friends.

A viewing will be held on Thursday, March 19, 2026  from 6:00 pm until 8:00 p.m. at the Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, Inc, 739 Penn Avenue, West Reading, PA 19611, with words of remembrance to be shared at 7 pm and will be webcast. To access the webcast link, or express a condolence, please visit kuhnfuneralhomes.com.