Virginia Ralston, formerly of Clarksdale, passed away in Memphis on June 20 at age 94. She died peacefully, after having suffered from dementia for several years.
Mrs. Ralston was born Virginia May Dean in Missouri in January 1925 to Chester and Pearl (Williams) Dean. She got the nickname “Ginger” at about age 18, and that is how she was known during her adult life. She graduated with honors from Drury College in Springfield, Mo., in 1946. She married Roy Ralston in Kansas City in 1951. They settled in Clarksdale in 1955 and raised three sons there. She was an enterprising individual, building the Westover Apartments in Clarksdale in the 1960s. She and Roy moved to Germantown, Tenn., in 1991, to be closer to two of her sons and their families. She was active in the community and organizations related to women’s rights and voting, and a founding member of Neshoba Unitarian Universalist Church in Germantown. Her hobbies included tennis and bridge. She was a friend and role model to many, and beloved by her family.
Ginger was predeceased by her husband in 2007, and lived the last decade of her life at Trezevant Manor in Memphis. She is survived by her three sons, Matthew Ralston, MD (Kay), Michael Ralston, MD (Espi) and Bruce Ralston, LLD (Sara), as well as six adoring grandchildren (Virginia Jaramillo, Olivia Ralston, Michelle Morris, Cecelia Ralston, Scott Ralston, and Elizabeth Ralston) and eight great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at the Neshoba Unitarian Universalist Church in Memphis at 1 p.m. July 11. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to Planned Parenthood.
