Ruth Ralphs Of Gorman Dies at 90

By mountain standards, she may still have been in her prime. Until three years ago, stylish Gorman matriarch Ruth Ralphs was still appearing in crisp Chanel-style suits to serve as a member of the Gorman School District Board of Trustees. Nudging 91, Ralphs died December 30, 2010 at the home in Gorman where she had lived for 61 years.

According to an article written by Kitty Jo Nelson in the archives of The Mountain Enterprise, from that perch at the top of the Grapevine Ralphs served as a focused business woman. Nelson reports that she was the secretary/treasurer of James L. Ralphs, Inc. and was vice president of Tri-R Food which owned Carl’s Jr. in Gorman. She was also secretary/ treasurer of the Golden Valley Water District.

Ralphs may have been the longest-serving school board member in the state of California for her contributions to the Gorman Elementary School District. In 1995 Ralphs was selected to serve as honorary mayor for Mountain Memories Association’s Fiesta Days.

This is part of the January 07, 2011 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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