Hester Rallis

Hester H. Rallis May 21, 1935 - July 25, 2025 Hester was born in Berlin, MD, the only daughter and second child of Dowel and Mary Harrell (nee Bonner). They moved to St. Cloud where, apart from summers in / around Philadelphia where her aunt had a hotel in the Poconos (which she remembered with great fondness), she spent almost all of the rest of her life either at the house on Missouri Avenue or at the house on Florida Avenue. She was preceded in death by both parents, her brother Dowell and sister-in-law Mildred, cousins Mary and Thomas, and her husband John. She is survived by her children Robert (Phyllis), Scott (Denise), Rosemary (Don), and John II (Nancy); grandchildren Jason (Jackie), Rashae (Clint), Charrienne (Noah), Chisholm, Colton, Cheyelo, Cash, Jared (Holly), Hunter, Drew, and Alexis; and great-grandchildren Austin, Tammy, Troy, Desiree, Destiney, Chris, Jensen, Hayden, and Harper. A lifelong Catholic, she attended schools in St. Cloud but ultimately graduated from St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School in St. Augustine in 1953. Afterward, she attended Stetson University and the University of Tampa. Soon after college, she married and had three wonderful children - Robert, Scott, and Rosemary. She divorced for her own well-being and that of the children. She worked at Paro’s Gift Shop in St. Cloud while caring for her ill mother and met John there in 1962. They remained married from 1965 until John’s death in 2021, living for a time in Jacksonville, where their son John (II) was born. They moved back to St. Cloud permanently in 1969. Hester was a dedicated homemaker and volunteered with many organizations, including the Central Florida Catholic Women’s Deanery, Junior Women’s Club, Beta Sigma Phi , and Meals on Wheels. She also assisted with the 1980 Census and worked for several years with Don Schmidt Contracting & Roofing. She was an avid reader - Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Shining, The Day Christ Died - all were fair game. Sadly, a stroke in her optic nerve made reading for pleasure very difficult. She was a gifted cook and baker, and derived joy from making everyone happy with her cooking. When times were difficult (and they were, especially early on), she still somehow turned even simple meals into something special. She was a gifted artist with abundant natural talents: visual arts, poetry / prose, piano (her Claire de Lune was exceptional). She was adept at all of them, although she never promoted herself. She was also highly intelligent with a quick, sharp wit. Even to her last days, she maintained a cheeky sense of humor and found ways to make others laugh (or blush). She always made an impression. Even the day she passed away began with donning a flowery blouse with fresh red lipstick, freshly painted fingernails, and golden hoop earrings. She always said things like “God love you” or “God bless you”. Whether that was her version of “Bless your heart” remains a mystery, but chances are she meant it sincerely…most of the time. She could be sensitive and deeply reflective, but when the situation demanded it, she displayed remarkable strength. She was multifaceted: sometimes elegant and sometimes gritty; prayerful, erudite, and intelligent, a jokester, a counselor, a confidant, an artist, a survivor, and yes, sometimes a critic. But, when she was all in, she would cheer you on no matter what, even when you maybe didn’t deserve it.The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday August 9, 2025 at 11:00 AM at St, Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 700 Brown Chapel Road St. Cloud, FL 34769. Interment will follow in Mt. Peace Cemetery in St. Cloud. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.