Ines Colom Ragland

Inés Mercedes Colom Ragland passed away peacefully in her home in Mechanicsville, VA, on December 27, 2025, at the age of 78. Born in Washington, D.C., to Yerby Pannill Colom and Jose Luis Colom, Inés was raised in Puerto Rico, where her love for the Spanish language and culture was formed and nurtured. She returned to Virginia at the age of sixteen, and graduated from Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA.

After graduating from Longwood College in 1969, Inés began her career teaching Spanish at John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond, VA. It was there, in April of 1972, that she encountered the life-changing love of Jesus Christ—introduced to her by a group of persistent students. Her relationship with Jesus became the defining characteristic of her life and shaped every decision she made for the next 53 years.

After leaving Kennedy, Inés spent a short time at the State Water Control Board before returning to her true calling: education. She served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal at Grove Avenue Baptist Christian School throughout the 1970s and 80s. During that time, she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. In true Inés fashion, she leaned fully on her faith and received a divine miracle.

In 1984 and 1986, she welcomed her daughters, Michelle and Rachael, the greatest joys of her life. In 1990, she joined the staff of Victory Christian Academy as a high school teacher. She went on to earn her Master of Education from Longwood University, and later became the assistant principal at VCA.

In 2003, Inés returned to the public school system as a Spanish teacher at Hanover High School in Mechanicsville, VA. She later served as an assistant principal before joining the Hanover County School Board as the Lead Teacher for World Languages and ESL. After health issues led to an early retirement in 2011, she pursued a lifelong dream of studying Biblical Hebrew, Modern Hebrew, and Greek. She also surprised many by becoming a devoted dog mom to Rafa and Jethro.

In her final years at Harmony of Hanover, Inés continued sharing her love for Jesus with everyone she met—often while impressing them with her sporty fashion sense and watch collection. Though she faced significant health challenges near the end of her life, her faith never wavered. She remained confident that no matter what came, God would sustain her and remain faithful.

Inés is survived by her daughters, Michelle E. Ragland and Rachael C. Ragland; her sisters, Maria C. Huebner and Cristina C. Miles; five grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; an extended spiritual family; and countless friends and students whose lives she touched. She is preceded in death by her sister Angela C. Kenty.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at Grove Avenue Baptist Church in Richmond, VA on Friday, January 2nd, at 11 am. Bright colors are encouraged, especially purple and teal. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) or the Parkinson’s Foundation.