Kathleen M. (Herrick) Rankin
October 31, 1944 — June 16, 2013
Kathleen Marie Rankin, 68, died Sunday, June 16, 2013 after a nine year battle with breast cancer. She passed away at home with her loving husband by her side. Born October 31, 1944 at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, she was the third child of the late Marion and Mary (Kaley) Herrick. She was raised in Kent, but had lived in Ravenna since 1965.
She was a 1962 graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent, and attended Catholic University in Washington DC, then graduated from Kent State University with a B.S. in Accounting. She worked as an accountant for several businesses and retired in May 2000 from Gougler Industries in Kent where she was the Assistant Controller.
Mrs. Rankin was a parishioner at Immaculate Conception Church in Ravenna where she had been a member of the Lady’s Guild and volunteered for the Bereavement Ministry and as a teacher for the Parish School of Religion. In May 2000 she made her permanent profession as a Secular Franciscan with the St. John Vianney Emerging Fraternity to live the gospel life following in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi. She was very active in her faith and made several religious pilgrimages that included trips to Rome, Fatima, Medjugorje, and the Holy Land.
She enjoyed gardening, canning, cooking, and traveling. She and her husband traveled the United States extensively in their RV. She will be remembered for her wonderful family meals, her gentle loving spirit, and that her home was always open to family and friends. She was a very involved grandmother and her six grandchildren were the lights of her life.
Survivors include her husband, Robert S. Rankin Sr., whom she married May 12, 1964 in Monroe, Michigan; Son Robert Jr., (Tammy) Rankin of Clarkesville, Georgia; daughters Julie (Dane) Warholic and Patty Starkey of Ravenna; Grandchildren Paula and Brandon Rankin of Georgia, Brady and Emily Starkey and Evan and Austin Warholic all of Ravenna; as well as many extended family members and close friends. She will be missed by all that were blessed to have known her.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister Norma Jean Kaminski, her brother James Michael Herrick, nephew Thomas Herrick, father and mother-in-law Donald J. and Esther Rankin, brothers-in-law David Rankin and Alfred Kaminski, and son-in-law David Graham Starkey.
Calling hours will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday June 19 2013 at Shorts Spicer Crislip Funeral Home, Ravenna Chapel. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11AM Thursday June 20, 2013 at Immaculate Conception Church Ravenna, Ohio with Fr. John Madden officiating. Burial will follow in Standing Rock Cemetery Kent, Ohio.
The family wishes to thank the Robinson Memorial Hospice nurses for their care. Memorial contributions may be made to Robinson Hospice or to the Immaculate Conception Bereavement Ministry.