Sharon Sue Rankin
1940-2021
Sharon Rankin, a loving mother, grandmother, friend and mentor passed away on February 27th, 2021 at the age of 80.
Sharon was born to Clarence Alfred Waller and Malinda Eunice Widdifield on September 22nd, 1940 in Oklahoma City, OK. After graduating from high school, she pursued her college education at Central State College. She met her husband, Larry Rankin at the Wesley Foundation while in college. They were married in 1963 and spent 57 years building a life together. They raised 3 children: Shawn, Guy (Lisa) and Robert (Jennifer), and 8 grandchildren: Nicha, Laney, Chantz, Colby, Braden, Makenzi, Andy, and Jake.
Sharon dedicated her adult life to educating others. She was a public school teacher, an assistant principal, and a mentor for aspiring student teachers during her 40+ years as a professional educator. She inspired countless students and colleagues to ask questions and look for the best answers. She incorporated her gentle nature and loving spirit into all she did.
Sharon also had a love of music. She joined The Sweet Adelines Chorus in Ames, IA in 1968. She rejoined the Oklahoma City Chorus in the 90’s. She loved all of the friends she made and the experiences she had while singing.
Sharon will be remembered warmly by everyone she loved. Her family will have a celebration of a life well lived on Monday, March 8th, 2021 at Mathews Funeral Home at 2pm.
We will be live streaming this service in an effort to accommodate those people that wish to attend but feel they should not due to the health environment. To watch the service CLICK HERE to go to our YouTube page. Then click on ‘Videos’ then ‘Live Streams’.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and especially Larry
Sharon was indeed a lovely and gracious person. We worked together at Overholser Elementary School in the Putnam City School District. We thought a lot alike about helping teachers and doing what was best for children. Since I sang with the OK Chorale, we also talked a lot about barbershop singing. She will be missed.
Sharon’s loving, kind, generous, and intuitive spirit made those around her want to be better. She is a treasure, and we are so blessed to know and love her. Unforgettable, that is Sharon Sue Rankin. ✝️
Sharon was a gracious, sweet wonderful assistant principal, always striving to help us be better teachers. She was great about being at our luncheons and renewing old friendships. She will definitely be missed.
I will miss Sharon. We sang in a quartet together. Before Covid, a small group would get together for lunch every couple of months. and talk for hours. What fun we had
Joyce Ezell
Love you guys! I always remember your mom was so kind when we came over to hang out. Even after you moved she would always take the time to talk if we ran into each other out in town!
Sharon and I worked together at Northridge Elementary. Sharon was a kind, gracious and caring person, she
always had the students best interest in mind. She had a positive influence on the students and staff. I am sure
this carried over into working with student teachers.
Sharon frequently talked about how proud she was of her family.
She will be missed by all who knew her.
I want you all to know how very special Sharon was to all of us at Northridge Elementary. She would visit my classroom frequently and always had that warm, wonderful smile that made all of us glad to see her. Her soft spoken ways meant a lot to all the staff. She was knowledgeable and professional and will be greatly missed. I’m glad our lives crossed paths. Blessings to your family.
Mrs. Rankin was my favorite teacher. She was caring and compassionate to a very very angry child. I saw her a couple of times on campus when I was in college and we were able to reconnect on Facebook and would chat every now and then. She will be greatly missed.