COEUR d’ALENE — Nice guys finish last.

You surely have heard that old axiom. But if you believe it, you haven’t met Ralph Capaul.

Capaul is the soft-spoken, unassuming, absolute Mr. Nice Guy of Coeur d’Alene. And emotionally appreciative of a long lifetime of memories. Despite all that, he has also landed at the top of the heap in things that really matter. He was married for five decades, is the father of three and the grandfather of six, was an institution at City Hall serving under five different mayors, and is the recipient of a Bronze Star for heroic combat duty in Korea.

Now 87, he retired as head of the city’s water department 24 years ago and lives in a meticulously tidy house in Coeur d’Alene surrounded by photos of his family and mementos from a place he has refused to leave.

“I feel blessed. It’s been great,” he said. “I’ve just been pretty fortunate to be able to take care of myself here.”

His grandparents immigrated from Germany in 1906. After a short stint in Wisconsin, they moved by wagon to Coeur d’Alene and bought enough property at the base of Canfield Mountain to manage a farm that would support themselves and six children.

THE CAPAULS moved to the 1900 block of Fourth Street in downtown in 1909. He was born there in 1930 and shared space in the home with two brothers and an adopted sister.

“I think my parents got tired of boys,” he said.

In 1937 the family moved to the 1000 block of Fourth where Capaul would grow up. His father, George, and older brother were both firefighters for the city, a rewarding but not lucrative career.

“It was a great childhood,” he said. “My parents didn’t have any money, but in those days you didn’t know you were poor. We got along.”

Capaul’s mother was a midwife and ran one of three maternity homes in Coeur d’Alene, where women went to give birth.

“My younger brother and I were kind of raised right around that,” he said. “We would have to do a lot of housework because my mom was usually so busy with the patients.

“There were quite a few kids born at our house. I see in the newspaper people who have passed away who indicated they were born in the maternity home on Fourth Street.”

He also worked for his father, who had a side job cutting wood.

“He jerry-rigged a buzz saw and we would help him with it,” he said. “In those days everybody heated and cooked with wood stoves. So we’d work on that buzz saw even after school.

“It was hard work. I guess we learned our working habits right there.”

He also did yard work for older city residents, but still found time for fun.

“We liked to ride our bikes to the beach, which was probably the most popular place in those days, and we’d go to Fernan Lake to fish,” Capaul said.

“We liked what everybody else liked,” he said, recalling the city’s parades and Fourth of July celebrations.

CAPAUL SAID his family was respectful of the law and he managed to stay out of trouble.

“I’ve never been in jail, but I guess that means I never got caught,” he said without elaborating.

High school was a “good experience.” He played on the football and baseball teams and graduated in 1948.

In 1950, he was working on a road construction crew in St. Maries where he met a dark-haired beauty who was a waitress in a restaurant there. They were married on Oct. 27, 1951.

“My wife chose to pass away on that day, 51 years to the very day,” he said, his eyes misting.

Capaul, who had served in the National Guard since 1947, was activated by the Army and sent to Korea less than two weeks after his marriage.

He served a year as a firing battery chief with huge M-40 tanks that look like something from a Star Wars movie and were capable of firing a 95-pound shell as far as 14 miles.

When he returned home in 1953, he applied for a job with Idaho Water Co., “I started with a shovel in my hand, digging anything that had to be dug,” he said.

After about 10 years he was appointed water superintendent. The city’s water was drawn from Lake Coeur d’Alene at the time by a pumping station on the east side of Tubbs Hill. Capaul and his wife lived for 25 years in a house at the same location, pretty much consumed by the job.

“It was hard on my family because it was a 24-hour-a-day job. The alarm bells were in there to tell me what was happening,” he said. “It wasn’t uncommon for the bells to go off at 2 in the morning. I had to go see what the hell was going on.”

THEN THERE were the customers.

“When you’re dealing with the public you’ve got problems to start with,” he said. “But I got along pretty well. I knew an awful lot of people in town at that time. You just had to take it day by day because you have all kinds of different problems.”

The city bought the water district in 1975 and eliminated the expensive and aging lake pumping system, replacing it with wells. Capaul served 38 years, including 25 years as superintendent. He retired in 1993.

During that time he had offers from larger communities in Oregon, which he declined.

“I just didn’t want to leave Coeur d’Alene,” he said.

Since retiring he’s watched the city’s population and traffic explode, and has mixed feelings about the growth.

“I’d prefer to go back to the old Coeur d’Alene,” he said. “We were a sleepy little village for quite a while.”

Still, he feels the same about his home of nearly 90 years.

“I haven’t traveled a lot, but I haven’t seen any other place where I’d rather live,” he said. “I just never expected to get this old,” noting that some of the young men he hired as water superintendent are now retiring. “But it’s been a great life.”

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Know a longtime local we should feature? Send your suggestions to Ric Clarke at [email protected].