William "Bill" Russell Ralston

William Russell Ralston could be described as genuine. If he didn't like you, you'd know it. On the flip side of that, he'd treat you like family if he did. He was always laughing, especially if it was at your expense. But that was one of his best qualities- being able to make everyone lighten up and smile. At the same time, if there was anything he could do to help, you can be sure he was coming over even after a 12 hour dav at work. He took a lot of pleasure in fixing his friend's broken belongings and saving them money. That could be anything from an appliance to an automobile. It really didn't matter. He was pretty selfless when it came to things like that. His mechanic skills stemmed from working in a tool and equipment rental yard as a young teenager and advanced later in the Marines and Army. He joined the Marines in 1955 and was deployed to the tail end of the Korean war where he was primarily a sergeant major's driver and mechanic. Later, he reenlisted straight out of the marines into the army in 1959 as a mechanic. His enlistment ended in 1962. After his time in the military service, he moved up to Alaska to be a commercial line fisherman. He loved his time there but was drawn back to San Jose California to be near family and friends. He eventually began working for Sears as a service technician, first in Santa Clara county and then Santa Cruz county for a span of 33 years, up to his retirement and migration to Newport in January of 2000. In his life he was a private pilot owning two different planes successively. His lifelong hobby interest was anything audio, especially tube amplifiers and components. He was born October 14, 1938 in Kansas City, Kansas to Alberta Moody and Richard Wheatey. Due to personal circumstances, Alberta allowed her son to be adopted at 3 days old, by Alice and Stewart Ralston. Who eventually moved their family to California. His most valuable life achievement so dear to his heart was learning about and gaining relationships with his precious God Jehovah and his loving King Christ Jesus. It was not an easy beginning. He would harass his friend and eventual mother in-law, Gladys, with convoluted questions, not realizing that she would burst into tears after each encounter. At the time, she was free entertainment. But his heart was touched with sincerity and he started sneaking out of town to search out a kingdom hall to peek inside. When he entered his first Kingdom Hall in Santa Cruz he was greeted with a wall of perfume of little old ladies. That made him recoil and keep looking, ending up in the Felton congregation meeting at a community center in the Santa Cruz mountains. Mike Johnson, one of the elders, offered to study with him, and the rest is history. He was baptized December 2, 1973 and never looked back. On December 5, 1975 he married Lorna, (Gladys and Tom's daughter), who when she was little, called him Uncle Bill. He was elated and embarrassed all at once. He adopted Lorna's 22month old son Elias, and in the next few years he became father to Renel, Joseph and Skipper. He and Lorna raised their family in the beautiful Santa Cruz mountains making many lasting bonds in the local congregation. Once in Newport, he lovingly used his energy in the formal and informal ministry with his new friends, and offered his mechanical services freely and eagerly. If he knew of a need in the congregation or neighborhood that he could fill, he was there with no reservations. He is survived by his wife Lorna, son, Elias (wife Sara),son Joseph (wife Avery), daughter Renel (Husband Daryl Katoch) and their children Kai and Harlow, six sister's, five brothers, and their extended families. He died September 7th, 2016 in his bed with loving family near. The memorial service will be on Saturday, September 10th at 2:00pm at the Kingdom Hall in Newport, Oregon.

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William "Bill" Russell Ralston

October 14, 1938 - September 7, 2016