October 10, 1942 - June 11, 2002
Obituary:
BROOKVILLE - Age 59, of Brookville, passed away Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at Hospice of Dayton following an extended illness. She was preceded in death by her parents, Frederick W. & Geneva E. (Elliott) Tarver. She was a CPA and the executive Director of the Frank M. Tait Foundation for over 27 years where she worked with various charitable organizations in Montgomery County. She was a member of the Lewisburg United Methodist Church & the church choir where she often performed solos. She enjoyed golf, traveling and she spend many years working on her family history. She is survived by her husband of 37 years, David B. Rankin; sister, Judith T. Moore, Pitman, NJ & numerous nieces & nephews. Funeral services will be held 10:30 AM Friday, June 14 at the Lewisburg UMC with Rev. Michael Pratt officiating. Interment in Arlington Cemetery, Brookville. Friends may call at the Gilbert-Fellers Funeral Home, Brookville, 6-8 PM Thursday. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the Lewisburg UMC Building Fund, 200 W. Dayton St., PO Box 7, Lewisburg, OHÂ 45338.
Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free,
I'm following the path God laid for me,
I took His hand when I heard Him call,
I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play,
Tasks left undone, must stay that way,
I found that place at the close of the day.
If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy,
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah, yes, these things I too will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow,
My life's been full, I savored much,
Good friends, good times, a loved ones touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief,
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.
The Joys of her life
My purpose here is not to grieve her passing but to share with you some of the joys of her life. Some of her greatest joy came from her singing. Even as a child, her gift was recognized and a recording of a childhood song has miraculously survived. At the age of five, her family recorded "Evening Prayer" which she and her sister listened to frequently as children growing up in Philadelphia. That recording has been converted to an MP3 file (1 MB). Click here to listen.
In 2001, she sang several songs during the special music segment at the Lewisburg United Methodist church. Click here to share her joy in singing "It Is No Secret" accompanied by Eric Loy on the guitar. (2.7 MB)
In spite of increasing difficulty breathing, she sang "Ave Maria" for a combined Christmas Eve service for the Lewisburg Council of Churches in December, 2001. This final public performance also provided a moving ending at her funeral service. Click this link for the full text of the funeral sermon and to hear the song (4.1 MB).
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Sue also enjoyed playing golf and joined a Tuesday morning ladies league at a local golf course. She was especially proud of a hole-in-one on June 6, 1995.
Our travel together was a particular joy for both of us. We were fortunate to be able to travel to many states in the U.S., some of the Canadian provinces, Caribbean islands and Great Britain. Most enjoyable was our Alaskan cruise in 1999. Sue enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate on a rest stop touring Denali National Park. Mount McKinley is seen in the background.