Joseph Anthony Ralston

Former Hastings resident, Joseph Anthony Ralston, age 90, passed away Sunday, February 20, 2011, at the Nebraska Veterans Home in Grand Island, Nebraska. Rosary will be Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 7 PM at the Brand-Wilson Funeral Home Chapel, Hastings, NE with Father Joseph Walsh officiating. Mass of Christian Burial will be Friday, February 25, 2011 at 10:30 AM at the St. Cecilias Catholic Church, Hastings, NE with Father Joseph Walsh officiating. Graveside service will be at 2 PM at the Kearney City Cemetery, Kearney, NE. Visitation will be Thursday, February 24, 2010 from 9 AM to 9 PM at the Brand-Wilson Funeral Home, Hastings, NE. Condolences may be sent to the family from www.brandwilson.com. Joe was born November 7, 1920 in Superior, NE to Charles G. and Mary (Gerghity) Ralston. The family moved to Kearney, NE, where Joe attended St. James Catholic School and graduated from Kearney High School in 1939. After graduation, Joe moved to Grand Island and worked as a Pepsi Cola truck route driver. Joe served in the U.S. Army from December 1940 to September 1945. Under General Patton in Europe in WWII, Joe achieved the rank of sergeant and earned five battle stars. Joe married Arlene Ruebsamen Allison of Harvard, NE on October 26, 1946. The Ralstons worked as newspaper distributors for the Omaha World Herald in Grand Island and the Miami Herald in Miami, FL. In 1963 they owned and operated A&W Root Beer in Columbus and in 1973 owned and operated the A&W restaurant in Hastings. Joe was a member of St. Cecilias Catholic Church in Hastings, NE and the VFW. He was a former member of the Knights of Columbus and owned rental properties in Grand Island and Hastings. Joe played football in high school and was an avid sports fan. Joe and Arlene traveled to Texas during the winter in retirement. They had a strong interest in their young employees and children in general. He is survived by cousin Doris Keough of Kearney, NE and nieces Charlene and Christine Rogers of Sherman Oaks, CA. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Arlene on December 14, 2010, brother Charles Ralston and sister Deceased sisters name Erma Rogers. Memorials may be given to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.