John Rankin

RANKIN - John, October 3, 1922 (Belfast, Nr. Ireland). September 21, 2008. John was born in Belfast, Nr Ireland in 1922. As a young boy John earned extra money by hunting hares and quail to sell to local merchants. At the age of sixteen he entered into the service of Her Royal Majesty's Navy and fought in the North Atlantic on torpedo boats until the end of the war. John's love of the sea then led him to join the Merchant Marine where he traveled extensively around the world for ten years. He loved to regale all who would listen with stories of tramp steamers and foreign ports. John settled in New York in 1955 after marrying Edna A. Jack of Londonderry, Nr. Ireland. There he shifted his skills from sailing to construction, working on such projects as the World Trade Centers. John & Edna raised their family in Williston Park, NY among neighbors who became more like family. In 1988 they retired happily to Port Stewart, Nr. Ireland with their dog, Freckles. There, they were warmly welcomed back and grew many friendships old and new. John remained an avid outdoorsman all of his life, enjoying hunting and fishing and was a Life Member of the National Rifle Association and Past President of the Shelter Rock Gun & Pistol Club, Long Island, NY. John was widowed in 1991 and returned to the states in 2006 where he traveled between Hastings, Minnesota and Plantation, Florida. John is survived by his two daughters; Helen Myshin and Heather Brouillard, her husband Louis Brouillard, five grandchildren: Sara Mangan, Thomas Mangan, Wyatt Brouillard, John Myshin and Michael Myshin, his siblings, Kenneth Rankin and Helen Walmsley, many cousins and loving friends. A private memorial service will be held at sea.