Body of House Speaker Ralston to Lie in State This Week

The body of Georgia House Speaker David Ralson will lie in state beginning tomorrow in the Rotunda of the State Capitol in downtown Atlanta.

Ralston will lie in state from Tuesday at 11a until Wednesday at 11a.

From there, his body will be taken to Ellijay where a visitation will be held Friday, November 25 from 2p to 7p at Logan Funeral Home.

Then on Saturday, November 26 another visitation will take place at Akins-Cobb Funeral Home in Blue Ridge from 2p to 7p.

The funeral service will be held Sunday, November 27 at Fannin County High School Performing Arts Center at 1p in Blue Ridge.

Ralston passed away last Wednesday after a long illness.

In remembering Ralson, State Representative Alan Powell called him a good friend who brought order and stability to the House of Representatives.

“There were personal issues and things that were going on with leadership and Speaker at that time, and David stepped in to restore the decorum of the House,” Powell said. “And that’s probably one of the reasons that he and I were so close was because of that. He was from Blue Ridge and he had an abiding love of all of Georgia but especially of North Georgia. He was very familiar with our part of the country, Northeast Georgia, and he was just an excellent, excellent gentleman.”

Letters of condolence may be sent to the Office of the Speaker, 332 State Capitol, Atlanta, Georgia 30334.