Her father was an investment banker, who moved Ashley and her family to Belvedere, California in order to assist in running a shipyard in Marin County in August 1941.

She joined the staff of the Marin Independent Journal in 1951, and wrote over 1200 columns for the newspaper.

[5][6] Ashley not only focused her writing on life in Marin County, but also on her wide-ranging travels outside the US, including Afghanistan, Russia, and Iran.

[2] She is the subject of a tribute by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey placed in the Congressional Record.

Woolsey praised Ashley's "passionate and thoughtful writing that has made her a community institution.