William Alexander Ranson ’45

William Alexander Ranson ’45, of Charlotte, N.C., died Dec. 15. Ranson was born Feb. 27, 1923, in Charlotte, son of the late Mary Query Ranson and J. Lester Ranson. He attended Davidson and Duke University and received his M.D. degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1948. He had postgraduate training at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Charlotte Memorial Hospital, and the University of California Hospital in San Francisco. He served in U.S. Navy Reserve and served overseas with the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps, receiving honorable discharge with the rank of captain. In 1954, Ranson married Margaret “Peg” Hartsell, and they made their first home in California. At the University of California School of Medicine in San Francisco, he was clinical instructor in medicine, and at the University of California in Berkeley he was associate physician for student health. Ranson entered the solo practice of internal medicine in Charlotte in 1957, and, in 1991, he joined group practice with First Charlotte Physicians, retiring in 1994. He was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha honorary medical society, an emeritus member of the Mecklenburg County Medical Society, and a former member of the North Carolina Society of Internal Medicine, the American Society of Internal Medicine, and the American Medical Association. A longtime member of Myers Park Presbyterian Church, Ranson served as a deacon and an elder. He was a former volunteer for Friendship Trays and a member of the senior forum. He will be remembered as a faithful churchman; a loving husband, father, and grandfather; a loyal friend; and a kind and gentle physician. Survivors include his wife, Peg, 5100 Sharon Rd., Unit 2401, Charlotte, NC 28210; daughter, Jane R. Little (Charles L. Little, Jr.); sons, Lester A. Ranson (Rebecca) and Forrest L. Ranson ’85; grandchildren, Margaret Pate Little and Charles L. Little III; brother, John L. Ranson ’38 (Marilyn); sister, Mary Emily R. Baesel (Edward); sister-in-law, Mary Nell Ranson; four nieces and five nephews; and a number of great-nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sister, Elva Ann Sarratt, and brother, Robert Query Ranson.