[4] Her sisters Dorothy (Williams[6]), and Evelyn (McKee[6]), were also Florida state champion swimmers,[7] and the siblings were known collectively as the "Rawls' Diving Trio".

[5] Together with sister Peggy (Wedgworth[6]) and brother Sonny, a champion diver,[2][8][9][10] the Ralings siblings went to junior contests and exhibitions, as "Rawls' Water Babies".

[20] At the 1932 Olympics, Rawls competed in the 3 metre springboard diving event, and finished second to Georgia Coleman for the silver medal, losing to a rival she had recently beaten in the U.S. trials.

Rawls won a bronze medal in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay with the team of Bernice Lapp, Mavis Freeman and Olive McKean.

[49] Subsequent to the marriage, she began work at the Thompson School of Aviation in Fort Lauderdale,[50] having qualified as a pilot during her swimming career.

[2][51] She was one of the initial 28 pilots who formed the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron in 1942, stationed at Detroit,[52] transporting military cargo by air as part of the U.S. war effort.

[53] In 1943, her husband reportedly sued her for divorce, but dropped the charges anticipating her return from Detroit to his farm in Florida.

[52] Rawls was a swimming instructor for 20 years at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.