Biography

Fred W. Stang was born on August 6, 1923 in Gary, Indiana to John and Frieda Stang. He served in WWII in the Army and returned to Gary where he worked in the steel mills.

Fred married in July 1948 and had a daughter in 1949. His in-laws decided it was time to get out of the steel mill town, so the whole family moved to Phoenix, Arizona where Fred worked in receiving for Sears. His interest in the trucking industry started there.

In 1953, he moved to Tucson. He managed the Mayflower Division of Tucson Warehouse and Transfer Company until 1969.

He then served as Vice President of the High Value Products Division of North American Van Lines.

In 1973, he bought a small struggling moving company, Ralph’s Transfer and Storage Company. There were 5 employees, three trucks and a 5,000 square foot warehouse.

Over the next 23 years, he applied his business acumen and his personal devotion to the company. In several years, Ralph’s became the largest moving company in Arizona, with over one hundred employees and nearly half a million square feet of warehouse space.

Fred was a people person. He was always willing to help an employee with a small loan and always willing to go above and beyond to assist others. He never forgot his modest roots.

Fred enjoyed golfing and was a member of El Rio Country Club and later, a member of Tucson National Country Club.

Prior to his death in 1996, he established the Fred W. Stang Foundation. His intentions were to provide charitable contributions to organizations that enhance the common good of the community.

Fred left behind a daughter and a granddaughter, an extended family and many friends that love and miss him.