|
Janie Lilley Ralston passed away peacefully on September 18, 2004 after a rich and fulfilling life. Janie was born in Brooklyn, NY on November 5, 1921. Her family moved to McNary, AZ when she was 7 years old, where her father worked as Treasurer of the Cady Lumber Company for many years. McNary was a bustling company town that provided her with many social and scholastic opportunities. After graduating valedictorian of her high school, she earned a degree in Sociology from the University of Arizona where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority. During those four years she made many lifelong friends and met her future husband, Joseph P. Ralston. Janie and Joe were married one month before she graduated because Joe had to leave for the east coast to finish Naval Officers training. She joined him after graduation and 9 months later she returned to McNary on a three-day train trip while seven months pregnant. After the war Janie and Joe moved to Phoenix. Janie raised their three children, Peter, Anne and Bruce, while supporting Joe in his work with many civic organizations. Janie was an avid reader and bridge player, and loved to travel. She enjoyed being a member of the Phoenix Country Club, White Mountain Country Club, and most of all, the RONS Club. She was also active in Visiting Nurse, Assistance League, Phoenix Symphony Guild, Kiwanian's and volunteered at the Phoenix Art Museum. In 1982 she moved to Albuquerque to live with her sister, Marion Cody, and spent twenty wonderful years meeting new friends and enjoying new bridge groups. After her sister's death in 2002, she returned to Phoenix to live at the Beatitudes to be closer to her friends and family. She was especially proud of her grandchildren, Ryan and Jeff Moore and Carrie and Scott Ralston. Her two surviving children, Anne and Peter, and everyone who knew her will miss her always. Her positive attitude toward life and her smile and laughter will be how she's most remembered. A reception in her honor will be held at a later date. Donations can be made to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower Street, Phoenix, AZ 85014, or www.hospiceofthevalley.org.
|
