Ralph "Doc" Ganz

Ralph "Doc" Ganz was a veterinarian from St. Cloud, Minnesota, who spent 56 years treating animals across central Minnesota and became a familiar, beloved figure in the Benton County farming and civic community. He died on October 11, 2026, at Quiet Oaks Hospice House in St. Cloud, surrounded by his children. He was 99.

Ganz grew up with Swanville High School as his starting point and was part of the first class of men admitted to Rockford College in Rockford, Illinois, before earning his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota in 1963. He went on to practice veterinary medicine for 56 years, retiring at the age of 92, and was remembered by colleagues and neighbors as an exceptional diagnostician who educated farmers, mentored younger veterinarians, and encouraged young people through 4-H and other community programs.

His professional life extended well beyond his own clinic. He served as the veterinarian for the Benton County Fair for many years, helped establish the Tri-County Humane Society, and worked as a special sheriff's deputy investigating cases of animal cruelty and neglect. He also gave his time to civic institutions, sitting on the St. Cloud Board of Health and serving as a long-time member of the St. Cloud Granite Rotary Club.

Outside of work, Ganz was known for a restless curiosity about people, places, the arts, and the outdoors. As a young man he hitchhiked and rode freight trains around the United States, taking work on farms, fishing boats, wheat harvests, ore boats, and bridge building crews. In later life he and his wife Donna traveled together to Germany, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Brazil. He served on the St. Cloud Symphony Board, hosted gatherings centered on classical music, and was a regular at the theater, museums, opera, ballet, and annual performances of A Christmas Carol. He also remained an avid hunter, fisherman, boater, and birdwatcher well into his nineties.

Ganz was preceded in death by Donna, his wife of 48 years, his parents Herman and Johanna, and several of his siblings. He is survived by his three children, Jeffrey Ganz, Bethany Leonard, and Heather Poduska, along with four stepdaughters and eight grandchildren. News of his death drew tributes from the St. Cloud community, where he was remembered as a dedicated veterinarian, a mentor, and a civic volunteer whose influence spanned generations of farmers, pet owners, and fairgoers in Benton County.

No cause of death has been made public. Given his age and the fact that he died at a hospice house, it is likely his death followed a period of declining health, but this has not been confirmed in reporting.