Glenn Rankin, known to many as "Buck" passed away in his home on Saturday, May 20th, 2017. He leaves behind his wife Nancy, his daughters Christina, Carrie and Nancy and 7 grandchildren: Katie, Cody, Lucas, Brady, Casey, Cody, Avery and Carly. He is also survived by his sister Mary Allen and many dear nieces and nephews. He will be missed by many particularly Nancy Amaral his mother-in-law, Denny Rosenhagen whose relationship with his uncle was more like that of a brother's and by his lifelong KY family the Price's. He was the 8th child of the late Victor and Marie Rankin of Newport, KY. His services will be held at the Palm Beach National Chapel on Friday, June 2nd at 9:30 a.m. A mass at St. Therese Catholic Church will follow and he will be buried at the South Florida National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Wounded Warrior Project are suggested.
The following was written by his daughters in preparation for his services:
Thank you all for coming today to honor my Dad and to support my Mom & our family.
I just wanted to share a few words about his life and about the role model he was for us.
My Dad's family didn't have a lot financially so it was a big deal when the Catholic High School in Newport, KY offered to pay his tuition if he would play football for them. A year later though, his father became ill so he left school to support his mother. When his father passed, he wanted to serve his country like his 3 older brothers had. He petitioned former VP Alben Barkley, a KY man himself & friend of the family, to see if his Mother could receive spousal support if he joined. His request was granted & he proudly served us in the Navy from 1953-1957 as a 2nd Class Petty Officer. When he returned home, he worked as a pressman at the Cincinnati Enquirer, found time to go back to playing football for a semi-pro team, became chairman of his labor union and part owner of a gas station. The list of various hats he wore & the friends he made during his extended bachelorhood went on & on. Dad loved to talk about those old times & I can still picture the gleam in his eyes when he would share them with us. He was a devoted son continuing to support his Mother during all of it and finally, on his 37th birthday, her baby, the youngest of 8, settled down and married my Mom.
God blessed him with not 1 but 3 Daddy's girls! He liked to pretend he was tough & actually he was pretty strict so whenever he had to reprimand us, I would always catch a tear in his eye. I recall him telling me in his overly honest way that there was no instruction book on being a parent & that he & Mom were just doing the best they could. And that he did, always working extra shifts to give us a better life than what he had.
God came first for him. We prayed and attended mass as a family. Every child looks up to their father so seeing him up there reading on Sunday and singing in the choir left an impression on us. Most importantly though it was the way that he lived his life every day that inspired us. He believed wholeheartedly in the Golden Rule....treat others as you would like to be treated. Keeping God in our lives and living by this principle were the most precious lessons he taught us.
He was compassionate and thoughtful and would do anything for his family and friends. He found true joy in our happiness and felt sorrow when we were down. He was always there to listen...and with 3 girls, that meant A LOT of listening! He was understanding and patient with us but at the same time his expectations of what we could achieve were very high. He loved to say, all I can ask of you girls is to do your best. He had always done his best for us so it made his words easier to follow.
He was generous and kind and taught us to be accepting of people from all walks of life.
He stood up for his values and even up until 2 years ago he was still representing his old labor union to fight for equality in a group of men he mostly no longer knew.
He celebrated life and played almost as hard as worked. He absolutely loved to get everyone together, to watch or play a ball game or share good food. And he always jumped at the chance to play cards or dance. Yes, Big Bucky was quite the dancer! He loved to make a big pot of his famous chili and share it with his buddies, he loved mystery books and old fashioned music, the fall and Christmas were his favorite, he enjoyed a rainy day and liked to wake us up early to see the sun rise over the ocean. He loved the Wildcats and his old Kentucky home. He hated for someone to feel left out and he always rooted for the underdog.
Almost 4 years ago, I broke the news of lung cancer to him. His immediate response was well, I hope we can be aggressive about this. His motivation as usual was his family. He especially wanted to watch his grandchildren grow. Our prayers were answered & we were blessed with the opportunity to spend many happy days with him since. He had several setbacks along the way& it was an honor & blessing to have had the opportunity to participate in his care. He absolutely hated for us to see him struggle and at times I know he felt anger and despair. But he fought to the end and no matter how badly he was feeling, the sight and sound of his grandchildren lifted him up. And Mom, you kept him going too. Dad wasn't afraid of much, but you being alone scared him. He was the perpetual husband & was always worried about how his condition was affecting you in the end.
Dad lived his life knowing that it did not end here on earth and he entered into the next in such a beautiful way. Lord we thank you that he did not suffer further in the end. Dad, we know that you would not want us to feel so very heartbroken by your absence and we can just hear you up there saying "Chin Up Kid"!
You gave us a beautiful life with countless words of encouragement and a million happy moments but most importantly you were an amazing example of how to live life- lovingly, generously and gratefully....you lived to serve our Lord by serving others. We pray that we can continue to honor you by living our lives in the way that you did.
I will end with this...something Dad said as a part of his prayer at Carrie's wedding and something I know he wishes he could himself say to you today:
"Lord, I ask you to live within their hearts so that You might fill them with your joy and your peace."
Dad, You are now with our Lord surrounded by His joy and quite deservingly, His peace. We love you.
Please share your memories of Glenn or express condolences to his family through this online book of memories. You may also share a video tribute of Glenn by visiting:
mmry.be/44kp or texting 5-252 to 855-400-MMRY (855-400-6679). These short 2-minute videos will be complied in a keepsake for the family.
