Founders
Pictured: Painting by Oralee Kiewit
Ralph W. Kiewit Jr., John’s father, was born in Nebraska in 1921 where his family created one of the country’s most eminent construction companies. He moved to southern California as a boy in 1931 where he became part of the Malibu surfing culture and lifeguard in the 1930s and 40s.
Ralph 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. 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.
He died in 2013. Ralph married Oralee Abrams in 1947 and their only child, John, was born in 1948. Oralee was a fine artist, in the plein air tradition, focusing on the southern California coast, inland hills and deserts.
Ralph and Oralee became earlier supporters of the Arroyo Hondo Preserve which was established on the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County in 2001, shortly after their Foundation began operation.
Ralph Kiewit (on left) 1939. A summer Sunday morning at Surfrider Beach. Photo by Don James
Gone to Sanctuary / Page 220