HIGHLAND — Ralph Korte, founder of a major construction company bearing his name and a longtime civic leader whose impact was especially important in the Metro East area, is dead at 90.

Korte died Tuesday at his home at Cedarhurst, a senior living complex in Highland.

Korte, who grew up on a family farm in the Highland area as one of 14 children, began his construction career after returning home from a stint in the Army in Korea.

"The neighbors heard I was home, and they needed buildings," he said in a Post-Dispatch article in 2005.

He bought a new electric saw for $79 and a used pickup truck and began doing construction work for farmers, along with four other family members.

By 1958, that enterprise became Ralph Korte Construction Co., which later became known as the Korte Company.

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