Janet Tapley Ralls

Janet Tapley Ralls Janet Tapley Ralls, age 100, died of natural causes on February 21, 2014 at the home of her son’s family in South Jordan, Utah. She had been in declining health for the last three months. Mrs. Ralls was born August 2, 1913 in Charleston, Maine to John Sidney Tapley and Mary Louise (Twaddle) Tapley. She was the youngest of four children. Mrs. Ralls graduated from Williams High School in Oakland, Maine in 1930 where she was valedictorian. Later that year she enrolled in Gorham Normal School and earned a certificate to teach Junior High School in June of 1933. In the fall of 1933 she attended State Teachers College, Harrisonburg, Virginia—now James Madison University—where she earned a B.S. in education in June of 1934. She taught English for thee years before enrolling in Forsyth Dental Infirmary in Boston as a dental hygiene student. She was class president and in July of 1938 graduated second in her class with a certificate in dental hygiene. Mrs. Ralls was listed in her yearbook as “Most Popular,” “Wittiest,” and “Best Personality.” She earned the Registered Dental Hygienist designation and worked several years for the schools in Lewiston and Auburn, Maine. In January of 1942 she began teaching at Forsyth Dental Infirmary. In support of the war effort Mrs. Ralls joined the WAVES in November 1943 and on February 8, 1944 she was commissioned as an Ensign, Hospital Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve. She had the distinction of being one of the few dental hygienists ever commissioned as an officer. Her first duty station was at the Naval Dental Clinic, Naval Training Center, San Diego, where she was in charge of about 70 hygienists. There she met Lieutenant (junior grade) Walter Elwood Ralls, a dental officer, and they were married July 10, 1945 in San Jose, California. By that time Mrs. Ralls had achieved the same rank as her husband. She left the Navy in January of 1946 and did not practice dental hygiene thereafter. She devoted herself to her husband and family. When her husband retired from the Navy in 1968 the couple moved to Fallbrook, California and lived there happily for 25 years. After her husband died on January 30, 1993 she moved to Virginia to live with her oldest son and family. Mrs. Ralls lived there until November of 2013 when she moved with her son to Utah. She is survived by two sons, five grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren (one of whom is on the way). Mrs. Ralls is predeceased by her only daughter who died in 1991. She will be buried in the Fallbrook Masonic Cemetery next to her husband and daughter. Her love, vitality, and upbeat personality touched the lives of all who knew her. We are deeply saddened by her loss, but we are also very grateful we had her for so long. God bless this remarkable woman.

Janet Tapley Ralls

August 2, 1913 - February 21, 2014