JOANN W. RALSTON STAUNTON, VA… Joann (Whitley) Ralston, 83, wife of Harold H. Ralston, died Sunday, January 20, 2019, at Brookdale Assisted Living. She was born October 18, 1935, in Woodland, North Carolina to Rev. Leon E. (Dutch) and Elsie Lee Whitley. Mrs. Ralston graduated from Orange County High School and attended Madison College in the two year Business Education program and received a Secretarial Diploma. She was a self-employed bookkeeper and tax preparer. She was a member of St. John’s United Methodist Church where she was very active in the United Methodist Women. In addition to her husband of 55 years, she is survived by a son, Harold H. Ralston, Jr. and his wife, Kelly; grandsons, Jack and Henry Ralston of Buford, Georgia; a daughter, Cathy Fretwell and her husband, Dallas Fitzgerald, of Waynesboro; a brother and his wife, Albert J. and Carolyn Whitley of Mechanicsville, VA; a sister and her husband, Patricia W. and Robert Croxton, Jr., of Dunwoody, Georgia; and a sister-in-law, Susan Whitley of Rich Square, North Carolina. She was preceded in death by a brother Charles A. Whitley. A funeral service will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday, January 26, 2019 in the Henry Funeral Home Chapel by the Rev. Chuck Cole. Burial will be private in Thornrose Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 p.m. Friday, January 25, 2019 in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. John’s United Methodist Church, 1716 N. Augusta Street, Staunton, VA 24401, Hospice of the Shenandoah, c/o Augusta Health Foundation, P.O. Box 1000, Fishersville, VA 22939 or to a charity of your choice.