Submitted by: Dan Rich

Mardell Charlotte Rankin

Nov. 8, 1914 - Dec. 31, 2002

South Bend Tribune 1/5/2003

Mardell Charlotte Rankin, 88, of Bradenton, Fla., formerly of South Bend, Ind., died following a brief illness on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2002, in her residence.

Mrs. Rankin was born Nov. 8, 1914, in South Bend, to the late Owen C. and Blanche E. (Ireland) Vance, and had lived in South Bend until moving to Bradenton in 1981.

On Sept. 8, 1946, in South Bend, as Mardell C. Vance, she married Robert Rankin, who preceded her in death on Jan. 20, 2001. She is survived by a daughter, Sue Rankin; a son, Robert V. Rankin; two brothers, Otis Vance and Gilbert Vance; and by several nieces and nephews. Mrs. Rankin was a former member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, and a former vice president of the YWCA, both of South Bend.

Funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7th, in the Westminster Presbyterian Church, with Rev. Dan Clark officiating. Burial will follow at Highland Cemetery. Friends may call from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6th, in the Welsheimer Funeral Home, 521 N. William Street.