SOUTH PORTLAND – Ralph J. Aceto, 86, of South Portland, died peacefully Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at a Portland hospital surrounded by his loving children.

He was born in Portland, a son of John and Maria Ciccarelli Aceto. Ralph attended Portland Schools and was a 1952 graduate of Portland High School.

He married Shirley Anne Mitchell on Jan. 28, 1956 at St. Joseph’s Church.

Ralph was a carpenter by trade. He worked many jobs at one time and traveled from Bangor to Boston to provide a wonderful life for his growing family. He was a Union Carpenter before working for NE Insulation. Following he was then employed by Atlantic Acoustical before venturing out on his own.

In 1972, Ralph established RJ Aceto Company, which today is known as Aceto Acoustics. Building long standing relationships, he created this company’s reputation through hard work and perseverance, to which he passed those traits onto his children. The company has thrived through the years and is now a second generation owned business.

Along with his wife, their focus was always family first. Ralph worked all his life to provide a wonderful home in South Portland for his seven children. He worked tirelessly for years and was able to leave an incredible legacy to his family. He enjoyed being a grandfather and great-grandfather. Ralph was blessed to be able to see all 16 grandchildren graduate high school and make their own way in this world. Ralph will be dearly missed by his entire family and many friends.

Ralph was predeceased by his wife, Shirley in 2011; 3 brothers, Edmund, Nicholas and John; and three sisters, Antoinette, Josephine and Rose.

Survivors include four daughters, Jennifer Barrows and her husband Russell of Gorham, Brenda Grindle and her husband Steven of Portland, Diane Aceto of Windham, Rebecca Aceto and her husband Jaime Burnham of Biddeford, three sons, Ralph J. Aceto Jr. of Gray, Vincent Aceto and his wife Lynn of Gorham, Joseph Aceto and his wife Tracy of South Portland; a brother, Albert and his wife Alta of Florida, and a sister, Lena Walsh of Portland; 16 grandchildren; six great-grandsons; and several nieces and nephews.

The family would like to extend their sincerest thank you to Dr. Peter Emery, his team at Intermed and the entire care team at Maine Medical Center. A special thank you to Ralph’s nurse, Dan Andreasen, at Maine Medical Center, who showed true human empathy, knowledge, thoughtfulness and compassion to Ralph and his children.

Visiting hours will be held on Monday, March 8 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Conroy-Tully South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. A private 10 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, March 9. The Mass will be livestreamed at the Conroy-Tully Walker Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/conroytullywalker. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery, South Portland. To view Ralph’s obituary, or to share an online condolence, please visit http://www.ConroyTullyWalker.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the

St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital,

501 St. Jude Place,

Memphis, TN 38105



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