Mildred Louise Ranker, age 83, of Kansas City, Missouri and formerly of Tiffin, Ohio died at peacefully in her sleep at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, October 19, 2006 in Lakewood Care Center, Kansas City, Missouri. She was born on October 5, 1923 in Catlettsburg, Kentucky to the late Everett and June (Johnson) Tyree. On May 11, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio she married George Ranker. He died in October of 1972.
They raised 8 children together until George's death in 1972. Surviving are 2 sons, George (Terri) Ranker, II of Temperance, Michigan; John (Alma) Ranker of Salt Lake City, Utah; 5 daughters, Linda (Steve) Kramer, Chester California; Sylvia (Michael) Skali of Kansas City, Missouri; Mary (John) Hoyda of Tiffin; Charlene (Jim) Huff of Stanley, North Carolina; Christine Ranker and Gene Gautz of Toledo, Ohio; 19 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren; 2 sisters, Betty Osiek and Virginia Clarkston.
She is preceded in death by a son, James Ranker; a sister Jesse Hearne; and a brother James Tyree.
Mrs. Ranker was a 1939 High School graduate. She received her B.S. in Nursing from Berea College, Kentucky. She was employed at Tiffin Mercy Hospital for 25 years where she retired as a Registered Nursing Supervisor. She had been involved in the Harvard Nurses Health Study and was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church, Tiffin.
She met her husband, George Joseph Ranker on an elevator in her last year of nursing school doing her clinical at General Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was delirious with malaria contracted in the jungle in the Philippines during World War II. Her first words to George, (I guess that this is your last ride.) were repeated frequently during their marriage. His first words days later were, (Who was that pretty nurse that spoke to me on the elevator?) She moved from Tiffin to Toledo, Ohio in 1977.
The funeral Mass will be officiated by Rev. Timothy Ferris at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, October 28, 2006 in St. Mary Catholic Church. Visitation will be from 2-4 & 6-8 p.m. Friday, October 27 at Traunero Funeral Home, 214 S. Monroe Street, Tiffin, Ohio 44883 (419) 447-3113. Burial will take place immediately following in St. Mary Catholic Cemetery.
There will be a wake service at the funeral home on Friday at 3:45 p.m. The rosary will be recited at the church 15 minutes prior to the Mass. Contributions may be made to the American Alzheimers Association.