Corine Shepard Ransom

Oct. 6, 1943 -- June 24, 2009

A Celebration of life memorial service will be held for Corine Shepard Ranson, 65, of Albany, at 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, at Willamette Community Church, 420 Third Ave. S.E., Albany.

Corine was born Oct. 6, 1943, in Galveston, Texas, to L. A. "Shep" and Evolyn (Durrett) Shepard. She died June 24, 2009, in Albany.

Her early years were spent in Clovis and Portales, N.M. In 1955, the family moved to Albany, where Corine was active in Swordbearers (youth ministry), and graduated from Albany Union High School in 1961.

She attended Oregon State University, then married and moved to California, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. She returned to Oregon in 1976 with her four children, and lived in the Coos Bay area for another decade.

Corine married Michael Ransom on June 22, 1978, at Shore Acres State Park near Charleston. She worked for the Department of Human Resources as a staff trainer, presenting workshops on bereavement and childhood cancer. She also directed the Big Brother/Big Sister Program and volunteered with Candlelighters.

The family moved to Albany in 1987. Corine trained as a legal secretary and worked for a Salem attorney. She retired in 2001, following a series of complications related to lupus.

Corine's gift of wisdom led to 25 years leading women's Bible studies in North Bend and Albany. She loved researching theological questions, and exhorting people to get beyond the "pat answers" by doing their own research. She also was an avid genealogist, researching and documenting her ancestral lines.

Corine is survived by her husband, Michael Ransom of Albany; sister, Dixie Roylyn Emery of Fairbanks, Alaska; brother, John L. Shepard of Albany; son, David Ransom and his wife, Stacy of Eugene; daughter, Susan and her husband, Jason Mikkelsen of Albany; grandchildren, Dominik and Whitney Warren of Albany, Micaela and Emma Ransom of Eugene, and Scott, Kelly and Jacob Corliss of Eugene; nieces and nephews, Josh Turnbull, Deidra White, Derek and Duke Shepard, Rebecca Sirevaag and Beth Emery; and several dozen cousins across the United States.

Corine was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Sharon (Shepard) Turnbull; her brother, "Mike" Shepard; and two daughters, Kristine Creek, age 10, in 1977, and Debi Ransom, age 20, in 1985, both at Coos Bay.

Arrangements are under the direction of Fisher Funeral Home. Online condolences to be mailed to the family may be signed at www.fisherfuneralhome.com or mailed directly to the family at P.O. Box 1754, Albany, OR 97321.

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This obituary was originally published in The World.