Daniel-Ranse-Obituary

Daniel James Ranse

De Borgia, Montana

Jan 29, 1920 – Jan 21, 2008 (Age 87)

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BORN
January 29, 1920
DIED
January 21, 2008
AGE
87
LOCATION
De Borgia, Montana

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DE BORGIA - Daniel James "Jim" Ranse died Monday, January. 21, 2008, in Superior, of a sudden heart attack.



He was born in Harlan County, Ky., on January. 29, 1920. His mother died soon after childbirth and his father died when Jim was 10. As a product of the Depression, Jim found work on farms, ranches, and in various feed stores and raised himself.



Jim attended grade schools in Clover Fork, Ky., while performing odd jobs to support himself. He was proud to have completed the eighth grade.



Jim married Mildred Marion Raymond in Bonanza, Colo., just before the onset of World War II. He was soon drafted into the United States Army and was deployed to the South Pacific, where he fought on Guadalcanal and in the Solomons campaigns. He received a good conduct medal and two Bronze Stars for his duties as a heavy weapons noncommissioned officer. His DD 214 states that he qualified on the .30 caliber heavy and light machine guns, .50 caliber machine gun, 81-mm mortars, M-1 carbine, Springfield .30 caliber rifle and .45 caliber automatic pistol. Among his other duties, his DD 214 states that he worked with four horse teams and broke horses. Jim was very proud of the service he provided during America's greatest war.



After leaving the service, Jim moved back to Bonanza and produced and raised eight loving children. He found his true calling working as a tramp miner in various mines in Colorado. One of his favorite stories was of a gold deposit that measured a foot wide by six inches that he struck in a mine way back in the hills. He talked about the discovery and his dream of excavating the site unto his death



He raised his children in the Baptist faith and soon all of them were baptized. His greatest accomplishment was reading the Bible through and through three times. He stated that his purpose for doing this was so no man could lead him in the wrong direction. His greatest joy, other than his children, was living in the high mountains of Colorado. He was an avid hunter and outdoorsman. After his divorce, Jim lived in old mining cabins scattered throughout the Bonanza valley.



Jim survived three heart attacks, two strokes, and went blind for a month during his life. He credited his love for Jesus and his need to bolster and encourage the Christian faith within his family as the driving force that kept him going all these years. After a heart attack in Bonanza in the winter of 1987, Jim was forced to leave the Colorado mountains that he loved so dearly and move to the smaller mountains of Montana.



He lived with his daughter, Mary Finley, and her family for the last 20 years in De Borgia. He was instrumental in the lives of her five children and within the De Borgia community. Jim was a member of the VFW, American Legion, and the NRA. In the weeks preceding his death, Jim informed the family that he felt the Lord was calling him home.



Jim was preceded in death by his son, Tommy Ranse, of Bonanza and daughter, April Ranse, of Idaho.



Survivors include his loving son, Steve Ranse of Martinez, Calif., daughters Mary Finley of De Borgia, Diana Tackett of Olive Hill, Ky., Patty Horine of Smelterville, Idaho, Darlene Belfour of Aurora, Colo., and Donna Ranse of Oregon. He had six grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.



A service will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, January. 27, at Garden City Funeral Home. Jim's wishes were to be cremated and his ashes to be spread over the mountains in Bonanza. This wish will be granted later on in the spring.



Jim will be greatly missed for his storytelling, his love of life, the joy he brought to people and the wisdom granted him by our Lord and Savior. His family and friends hope to be standing with him again on the day of judgment.



'Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.' Proverbs 27:17.





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