Marion "Clint" Rankin, 89, of Topeka, passed away Monday, September 21, 2015 at his home surrounded by his family.
Clint is survived by his wife, Donna Jeanne; his son, Shannon (Kathy); his daughter, Sondra Rankin-Lovelace; his son, Erin (Elaine); his grandchildren Audra, Cory Lovelace, Shawna (Seth) Mitchell, Jason (Derra), Maureen, and Kent; his great great-grandsons: Weston, Cameron, Roman; and his sister Diana Gilbert.
Clint was preceded in death by his parents Marion Noble Rankin and Helen Grimes Rankin; his brothers John "Jack" Rankin and Roger Rankin; and his son, Nathan Rankin.
Clint was born in Nashville, Kansas on April 18, 1926. He graduated from Ashland High School in 1944 and enlisted in the Navy during World War II. He served as an aviation ordinanceman and saw numerous Navy stations in the Carribbean and South America.
Using the G. I. Bill, Clint enrolled at Kansas State University to attain his life goal of attending college and veterinary school. A member of the KSU inter-collegiate rodeo team, he participated in the national finals in California. Clint graduated from the KSU College of Veterinary Medicine in 1951.
Clint married Donna Jeanne Hutton his senior year of college and the couple moved to Ashland, Kansas. Clint opened the Rangelands Veterinary Clinic where he practiced for 33 years. A member of the Kansas Veterinary Association, Clint was elected president and served in 1976. A member of the American Equine Practitioners' Association, Clint was a veterinarian on a horse farm in Texas as well as a horse farm in New Jersey. From 1988 until he retired, Clint served the Kansas Racing Commission as its first state veterinarian supervising all the horse tracks and greyhound tracks.
Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at the Penwell-Gabel Mid-Town Chapel, 1321 SW 10th Ave in Topeka; the family will receive friends and family at the funeral home an hour prior to the service. Burial with military honors will follow at Penwell-Gabel Cemetery, 3600 SW 6th Ave., Topeka.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, 1700 Denison Avenue, 103 Trotter Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506.
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