Frances Wallace Rankin

“It’s been a magical life,” Mom once declared. And indeed it was. Our beloved Mom and Frannie (to her grandchildren), Frances Estelle Wallace Rankin, passed away peacefully on April 24, 2025, at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was 98 years old.

Born on September 18, 1926, in a Martin County, NC farmhouse built by her grandfather, Mom was the second of four children born to William Clarence and Virginia Allene Wallace. Electricity arrived in the 1930’s; indoor plumbing only in the 1950’s. Her mother was determined that all four would go to college, and she succeeded. Mom left the tobacco farm behind at 15 for Meredith College in Raleigh, where she earned her bachelor’s degree with honors, graduating cum laude. Backstage at the Raleigh Little Theater, she met the love of her life, Ed Rankin Jr.. Dad was a 1940 UNC graduate and World War II veteran. They married in 1948 and were devoted partners until his death in 2006.

The first years in Raleigh for Mom were spent raising three children – Jane, Ann, and Ed. Later, she and Dad co-owned Meridian Travel Agency, with Mom handling most of the day to day operating responsibilities, while Dad was busy with his career in state government and public relations. She began a lifelong love of travel. After 25 years in Raleigh, a new job for Dad took them to Concord, where, as in Raleigh, Mom fashioned a very active civic, church, and social life for them. They built a small cottage at Sunset Beach, where many wonderful memories were made with their nine grandchildren, especially Frannie’s Bingo games.

After 34 years in Concord, Dad’s failing health prompted a move to Winston Salem and Brookridge Retirement Community. We lost Dad six months later. Again, at 80, Mom created a new life for herself. She became an active member of Highland Presbyterian Church and the Brookridge Resident Council, continued her love of bridge, gardening and reading, and enjoyed her season tickets to the Winston Salem Symphony and Opera. Health challenges in Mom’s last years necessitated extra help, and the family will be forever grateful to Danielle Brabham who loved and cared for Mom so beautifully over the past four and a half years.

In addition to her husband and parents, Mom was preceded in death by her three siblings, Jimmy Wallace, Mary Alice Berryman, and Carolyne Langston.

While the family mourns Mom’s death, we celebrate her remarkable life and steadfast love and support for all of us. We certainly won the parent lottery with Mom and Dad. Mom is survived by her children, Jane Thompson (Michael) of Chapel Hill, Ann Rankin Cowan of Atlanta, and Edward Rankin, III (Suzy) of Fairview, NC; grandchildren, Ann Elizabeth Thompson, Catherine Thompson (Sean Schmidt), Elinor Cleveland (Cameron), Will Cowan, Jane Weber (Christopher), Katie Rankin (Brennan Bouma), Molly McGoff (Kevin), Jay Rankin, and Becca Rankin; great-grandchildren, Ethan Schmidt, Annie, Mary Maxwell, and Lily Cleveland, Ellie Weber, Charlie and Susanna McGoff, and Ian and Peter Bouma.

A private family service will be held at a later date in Chapel Hill. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial to the Frances Wallace Rankin Scholarship Fund at Meredith College. www.meredith.edu/support.

Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel is assisting the family