Though quiet until he got to know people, Ralph Corwin Nill was a generous man of many passions, caring for his family, sailing and making art -- all while working full time at his family-run golf course.

"My father was very persistent. When he set his mind on something, it was going to happen," said Christy Barowich of Elizabeth Township. "He would make lists of improvements he wanted to see around the golf course, and he saw to it that they'd get done."

Ralph Corwin Nill of Elizabeth died of heart failure Sunday, July 11, 2010, in Allegheny General Hospital. He was 71.

Born in McKeesport, Mr. Nill lived on Butler's Golf Course in Elizabeth for the first few years of his life before moving to his grandfather's house in Lincoln when he was 4. His grandfather opened the course in 1928, and Mr. Nill learned many of his business skills from him.

After he graduated from Bucknell University in 1960 with a business degree, Mr. Nill joined the Army and rose to the rank of first lieutenant.

Three years later, Mr. Nill became the superintendent for Butler's Golf Course, after the hasty departure of the former superintendent.

"He took the job because his family needed him, but it turned out that he loved what he did," Barowich said.

In 1965, he married Carol Kemp, a former classmate he had never met at McKeesport High. Because of their large graduating class, the two had to be introduced later by their siblings. They struck a compromise when it came to where they would live and raise a family: they would switch between Elizabeth and McKeesport every 10 years.

"She liked the city, he liked the country," Barowich said. "They called it their 10-year plan."

Mr. Nill continued to work at the golf course, eventually becoming the owner in the 1970s. Besides running the course, Mr. Nill had many passions. He joined the Deep Creek Yacht Club in Maryland in 1970 and sailed almost every weekend until his heart became a concern, his daughter said. In his later years, Mr. Nill made pottery in the Penn View Art Center in Elizabeth and in the Armory Art Center in Florida, where the couple spent their winters.

His biggest passion undoubtedly was his grandchildren, said his son, Jake Nill of Rostraver.

"He would lay down on the floor with the kids and play with them for hours while everyone else would sit in a chair," Nill said. "They would crawl all over him."

As recently as last week, Mr. Nill attended a sailing race in Maryland. Perched on the edge of his Flying Scott sailboat, Mr. Nill cruised through the water, enjoying the sport he had been a part of for 40 years.

In addition to his daughter, son and wife, Mr. Nill is survived by four grandchildren and a sister, Virginia Nill Swartz of West Windsor, N.J.

Visitation will be held from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the Gilbert Funeral Home and Crematory, 6028 Smithfield St., Elizabeth Township. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Mt. Vernon Community Presbyterian Church, where Mr. Nill was a member. The Rev. William K. Little will officiate. Interment will follow.

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