John Karl Rankin

In 1942 after Pearl Harbor he joined the Marines and became a member of AWS-1 deployed to the Marshal Islands in the Pacific. This was the Marine first air warning squadron formed in 1943 in Cheery Point, N. Ca. From 1944 to 1946 AWS-1 deployed to Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands, Engebi Atoll, Ie Shima, and Okinawa Campaigns of WWII. A record of his service is preserved in the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas.

In 1947 John married Flora Elizabeth Ryan; they both received BA degrees from the University of Oklahoma in 1949; in 1954 John received a BD from Perkins School of Theology. He was ordained with full connections in the Texas Conference of the Methodist Church and spent ten years working in home missions in East Texas where his two sons, Philip Henry and John Mark were born.

John joined the Oklahoma Conference in 1959 to work in the mental hospitals. In 1972 he became chaplain of Chicago State Mental Health Center and joined the Rock River Conference. He established a Clinical Pastoral Education program in Alexian Brothers Medical Center. As a member of the Northern Illinois Conference he retired in 1984 and moved to San Antonio, Texas where he became an active member of the Jefferson United Methodist Church.

John became a Mason in 1946. In April 2016 he was honored as a 32nd degree Mason by the Blue Bonnet Lodge of Texas for his 70 years of service. He was a Master Mason of the Blue Bonnet No. 1219 Grand Lodge of Texas. He was also a member of the Alzafar Shriners and A&A Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, SJ, USA.

He was preceded in death by his parents, three sisters and a brother. John is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Rankin; his two sons, Philip and John Mark (Audra Menconi); sister, Elizabeth Cordray (Calvin); four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; and many loving nieces, nephews and cousins.

A Celebration of his life will be held on Saturday morning, October 8, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at Jefferson United Methodist Church, 758 Donaldson Ave. A private interment will be held later in the family plot in Oklahoma.

The family wishes to thank all the caring and kind caregivers at San Antonio Home and Hospice and at Serenity Personal Home Care.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to Jefferson United Methodist Church, 758 Donaldson at Wilson, San Antonio, TX 78201.