John Winston Ralston

John Winston Ralston of Roswell, Ga passed away peacefully at Hospice Atlanta following a sever stroke. Winston, the son of Lee and Mary Ralston, was a lifelong resident of Fannin County. He was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Bernadine Ralston. Both were members of the Blue Ridge Church of Christ.

Winston attended Georgia Tech prior to enlisting in the Army Air Corps during World War II. While stationed in Italy, he was a left waist gunner and flew on 3 missions before his plane was shot down and he parachuted out. After the war, he returned to Fannin County and worked at Ralston Brothers Sawmill, the family business, and soon married. Winston served as the mayor of Morganton in the late 1950's then had an opportunity to go to work for State Farm Insurance and served as an agent for 37 years until his retirement in 1995. During his years with State Farm, he was named to Life Insurance Hall of Fame at the home office in Bloomington, IL and qualified for the President's Club twice which recognizes the top 50 agents company-wide. He was awarded numerous trips and he and Bernadine traveled to Spain, London, Hawaii, Rome, Italy and several other places.

Winston was an avid sports enthusiast and his favorite teams were the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves and Georgia Tech. He enjoyed playing golf, bowling and doing rock masonry. After retirement, he enjoyed playing duplicate bridge, gardening and spending time with his family.

Winston is survived by his children and their spouses, Scott & Claudia Ralston of Roswell, Liz Ralston & Carol Orndorff of Decatur, and Carole & Randy Tipton of Morganton. Grandchildren Chad & Jess Ralston, Summer Ralston, Makenzie Ralston, Lori & Conrad MacArthur, and Caleb Holloway. Great-grandchildren John Conrad MacArthur and Izzy Holloway. Sisters Odetta Colwell of Blairsville, GA; Glenda Major of LaGrange, GA; and Virginia Williams of Cobb Island, MD. Several nieces and nephews also survive.

Per his wishes, a service will be conducted on Sunday, November 8 at 2:00 p.m. at the Henry-Cochran Funeral Home Chapel. The family will receive friends immediately after the service at the Community & Southern Bank community room located on Orvin Lance Connector in Blue Ridge.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations can be made in Winston's memory to Hospice Atlanta, 1244 Park Vista Dr, Atlanta, GA 30319.