People came from Blue Ridge, Fannin County and all over Georgia Sunday to pay their final respects to David Ralston. Hundreds filed into the Performing Arts Center on the Fannin County High School campus for the funeral service.
They came to honor a true statesman, known for his dedication to Georgia and its people and the fairness that accompanied that dedication. But the faces and so many of the words spoken by those who knew him well told more than that. People came to honor a friend.
One by one, Rev. Mack Jackson, Rev. Chan Mitchell, former Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, and Rev. Randy Nix talked of the District 7 representative and Speaker of the House of Representatives, the man who cared about his state, its people, and the respect due the House of Representatives. Each of the four speakers also focused on what Ralston meant to them personally – his friendship – the same as that friendship meant to so many people.
Rev. Jackson, a state representative himself, told the story of how Ralston showed up at his church one Sunday morning. The reverend was surprised by two Georgia State Patrol cars in the church parking lot. When he entered the church, he was