Laura M. Ralf

Laura M. Ralf, age 88, a lifelong resident of Marshalltown, died on Tuesday, February 15, 2011, at Villa del Sol, where she had resided since 2001.Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am on Monday, February 21, 2011, at Central Christian Church, with the Reverend Gail Thiessen officiating. Interment will follow in Riverside Cemetery, Marshalltown. A visitation will be held at the church beginning at 9:00 am prior to the service. Memorials may be directed to Central Christian Church, 300 West Main Street, Marshalltown, Iowa 50158. For condolences please visit www.mitchellfh.com . Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Laura and her Family. Phone 641-844-1234.Laura Myrtle Ralf was born on July 29, 1922, in Marshalltown, Iowa, the daughter of Herman Gaylord and Mabel Munro Johnson. She was graduated from Marshalltown High School and received additional education from the University of Nebraska. On August 18, 1946, she married Jerald Binford Fleming and moved to Clovis, California. Following her husbands death in a traffic accident in December 1947, she returned to Marshalltown, where her son was born a month later. On August 17, 1959, she was united in marriage to Marion K. Ralf. He passed away in 2009.Laura was employed by several Marshalltown businesses, including the Marshall County Treasurers Office, from which she retired in 1984. A 77-year member of Central Christian Church, she taught Sunday school, served as a deaconess, and sang in the choir for a number of years. She enjoyed gardening, sewing, her pets, and winters in Texas, and she had a particular talent for calligraphic writing.Laura is survived by her son Mark W. Fleming (wife Laurel) of Naperville, Illinois; her step-daughters Jo Ann Decker (husband William) and Margaret Andrews (husband Clarence), both of Marshalltown; her sister Mary M. Johansen (husband Richard) of Des Moines; two grandsons; six step-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.Preceding her in death were her parents and her husband.