John Ralls

I'm an Engineer. My past lives include 10 years in the Navy Submarine Force, first as Supply Officer of USS Snook (SSN-592), then in various roles at the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Groton, CT. After being ejected from the Navy I got a Master's from my home-town college and worked for several years at a now-defunct integrated circuit company, the rather grandly named International Microelectronic Products Co. Since retiring in 1998 I've devoted most of my time to volunteer activities, including computer programming for several free open source software projects, residential construction with Habitat for Humanity, and providing color guards at parades and Scottish festivals with the Scottish American Military Society, a veterans' group.

I learned to play the highland bagpipe in high school and played with the Atlanta Pipe Band while in college. I now play for some color guard events with SAMS.

I got interested in genealogy while stationed in Connecticut, discovering that some of my mother's family names were well represented in eastern Connecticut and western Rhode Island. I discovered the more formal aspects when at a visit to the Westerly, RI courthouse the clerk asked me if I was in a genealogy society. I hadn't thought of that before, and shortly after joined NGS and NEHGS. I'm now a life member of NEHGS and I'm also a member of the Virginia and Georgia societies as well as being a life member of CGS.