Obituaries

Anna Sumner Ragland
Anna Sumner Ragland, 88, passed away peacefully at home in Hurst, Texas, on December 12, 2024. She was surrounded by members of her loving family. Anna was born and raised in Tifton, Georgia. She was the second of three children of her parents Naomi Willis Sumner and George W. (Coot) Sumner. She was preceded in death by her darling Ralph (her husband of 68 years), her parents, her brother Frank Sumner, her sister Mary Frances Sumner Clore, her son-in-law Fred “Bubba” Klemcke, and several nephews. Anna’s legacy of loving her family will be felt for generations. She and Ralph have 53 descendants. She is survived by their four kids (and their spouses): sons Scott Ragland & Stacy Ragland, daughters Marci Klemcke & Melanie McConnell; 14 grandkids (and their spouses) and 23 great-grandkids. Growing up in Tifton, Anna was a vivacious girl with a delightful (and life-long) sense of humor. She loved music and dancing from a very early age and was a trained vocalist and pianist who would sing with various local bands and church choirs. Through the years as her family grew, she would play the piano and sing at home, often with her kids and grandkids singing right along with her. Anna put her dancing talent to good use as a cheerleader at Tift County High School (where she graduated in 1953), at many school dances and also with their Air Force friends at formal and informal gatherings. She would often “cut a rug” around the kitchen and living room (even into her 80’s) while listening to records or the radio and passed along her love of music and dance to her kids. Anna accepted Jesus as her savior and was baptized at an early age. Some of her favorite music to play and sing were hymns from her formative years. She met Ralph in October 1954, while he was an Air Force Aviation Cadet Training in Bainbridge, Georgia. They were married in Tifton on July 31, 1955, and began their wonderful journey that would last nearly 68 years. They had four children between 1957 and 1961 while Anna kept the household running like clockwork, as she would do throughout her lifetime. Ralph often said that not only was she the prettiest woman he’d ever met, but also that he could not have had the career and college degrees that he achieved if not for her incredible support. After their kids were older, she worked in various ways including her two most rewarding jobs: babysitting children in her home before and after school in Palos Verdes, California, as well as serving as the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Ralph and Anna retired from the Air Force in August of 1980, after 26 years. They immediately moved to San Antonio, bought their dream house and lived in it for almost 40 years. During that time they loved to travel domestically and internationally, visiting their far-flung family and many friends. She was the rock of the family and “the wind” under Ralph’s wings, as he wrote in a poem to her. Her family cherishes the many traditions she started and kept going, including hosting family birthdays and holiday gatherings, always having the newest/best movies for the grandkids to watch, making Christmas stockings for each new addition and sewing stuffed animals for each grandchild. The family still muses about her exceptional memory of her life, Ralph’s life and career, and also for being able to recall so many anniversaries, birth dates, grades in school and favorite foods for all of her family. We will love and miss you always, Mom / Mamaw / Grandma / JaJa. You lived and loved so well! A celebration of Anna’s life will be held in San Antonio on March 1st. This will be followed by the interment of Anna’s and Ralph’s ashes at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery. Please contact her family directly for details.
Condolence Messages

One Response

  1. I’m so thankful I had the honor and privilege of meeting your mother. I will always cherish our visits. She was a very special lady, and will be missed greatly. May our Savior grant you peace at this time, as only He can.
    In Jesus’ Love,
    Phyllis Bizzell

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