James Ralston

James William Ralston,76, of Caledonia, died August 15, 2021. On a beautiful summer day Jim was in his woods on the tractor he used almost every day when a tree fell and crushed him. Born in Rockford's Swedish American Hospital, he lived his entire life near his childhood home. He was preceded in death by his parents, William J. C. Ralston and Margaret Jeanette Greenlee Ralston. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Katherine Griffeth Reed Ralston, son Matthew (Lisa) Ralston, daughter Jamie Ralston (Jim) Cunningham; sisters Elizabeth Ann Patchen (Kenneth L Patchen) Ralston, Constance Jeanne Ralston (George) Kassal, and grandchildren Isla, Benjamin, and Grayson. An Auburn High School graduate, Jim grew up on the family farm, helping raise crops and livestock as he cultivated a lifelong interest in fixing broken electronics, vehicles, and anything else that needed repair. As a student he had a room in the house where he kept tools and parts for repairs and tinkering. As a working adult he had pole barns in which he kept vehicles, tractors, and spare parts. A clean up effort of a workspace room in his home yielded 30 phones and 17 television sets being saved for spare parts. He had seven riding lawnmowers, four operational. After high school, Jim worked at Barber-Coleman for two years, served in an Army Artillery unit in Viet Nam from 1967-69, and then began working for Western Electric, which became AT&T, and finally, Lucent Technologies. He was a communications equipment installer specializing in telephone systems for large office buildings, for 44 years, retiring in 2009. Active in the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church of Argyle, he provided his perfectly pitched voice to the choir as well as a church quartet called the Stringers. He was self taught on guitar. He served as a deacon, church elder, and was on the Scottish Cemetery Board. He was a member of a couples group called Windjammers. He was a magazine reader, had an interest in archaeology, did some camping and cave exploration, and followed NASCAR, the Bears and the Cubs. He kept an eye on a heron rookery near the edge of his property and was proud to be a Scotsman. He had a great sense of humor. Chevrolets were his vehicle of choice, but he was quick to repair anyone's vehicle when asked. He was the pit crew for J & J racing team at Rockford Speedway for eight years for team driver and brother-in-law Jeff Griffeth. A visitation will take place on Friday, August 27, 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. at the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church of Argyle, with a memorial service following at 3:30 P.M. Memorial donations may be made to the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church, 7300 Belvidere Road, Caledonia IL 61011.