LIMINGTON- Isabelle Janie (Gammon) Rankin- On Thursday, October 12, 2017, the Lord called Isabelle
Janie (Gammon) Rankin home. She was born at her parent’s farm in Limington, the daughter
of Lowell Cleveland Gammon and Janie Palmer Gammon on February 23, 1929, the
middle daughter in a family of six boys and five girls. And although later in life her own
family would own and live in other communities, she always considered Limington her home.
She was a child of the depression, which meant that she learned at a very young age how
to do without when necessary. Her early life was marked by the death of her mother from
pneumonia at age forty six, just before Christmas in 1938. By the time she was thirteen,
Isabelle bore the responsibility of caring for her father, the house, and the younger children.
Although an excellent student, by the time she was a Junior at Limington Academy, her
devotion to her father and her family compelled her to make the choice of leaving school to
carry out her responsibilities at home.
There was no electricity or running water in the farmhouse. Isabelle carried water from the
wellcurb in the lower driveway up to the house for the needs of the household. Water was
heated on the woodstove, clothes scrubbed by hand, meals cooked on that same stove summer
and winter. Throughout this often-difficult period in her life, Isabelle could always turn to two
very special people in her life for help, her Aunt Martha Gammon, and her sister-in-law,
Julia Gammon, whom she loved dearly and thought of as a sister. Besides caring for her
siblings and her father, she also worked outside the home, in the Limerick Yarn Mills and later in the
Mills in Sanford, to help her father.
When her father finally remarried, Isabelle felt that she could begin her own life. She had met
and fallen in love with a man named Ralph Rankin, from Hiram. And so, they were married on
December 8, 1956. These two people shared a great sense of care and compassion for others
and in their quiet way, they reached out to help other people whenever and however they could.
Although Isabelle worked at General Electric in Limerick as a solderer, and later at Birchcraft in
North Conway, she became a full-time homemaker and mother when their son, William, was born in
1961. Isabelle was a wonderful cook and housekeeper, creating a warm and loving environment
for her family. Her door was open and her table had an extra place for anyone that needed her.
Isabelle was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was thirty five, and suffered severe
injuries from a head on collision with a drunk driver when she was forty two. Her position in the
car at the accident scene indicated that she had been trying to protect her son who was seated
between his parents on the front seat. Although desperately wanting to go home, she refused
to leave the hospital until her son was well enough to leave, which took a total of fifty nine days.
The Rankin household was a warm and loving one, with the family moving to Hiram in 1976,
where Isabelle enjoyed the company of her next door neighbor, Miriam (Aunt Lou) Horne, making
pickles and sharing recipes. However, five years later, Ralph passed away suddenly, leaving
Isabelle to once again find her own way. It was in this very difficult period of her life that Isabelle
relied on the friendship of Doris Dennett and Sadie Clemons, spending hours with them working,
knitting and crocheting. She was well known for her crocheted top towels, and her ripple stitch
afghans, creating and giving away more than thirty full size and innumerable baby afghans in her
lifetime. She enjoyed visiting her family and friends, especially her brother and sister in law, Alton
and Roberta Gammon. And above all, she continued to make a loving home for her only son, and
the two shared a wonderful and very deep bond.
When Will eventually married, Isabelle moved next door to him and his wife, June, and their new
son, Jamie, and perhaps the happiest part of Isabelle's life began, because she absolutely
adored her grandson, and Jamie's presence in her life brought new meaning and joy everyday.
In recent years, declining health required that she make her home at Sealrock Healthcare in
Saco, where she enjoyed visits of family and friends. She still had an active interest in her
family's well being, as well as the needs of her fellow residents there, and visits from her grandson
or the mere mention of his name would bring her a warm and beautiful smile. No matter her
physical condition, she was always a loving and caring mother and grandmother. She never
stopped loving her husband, never lost devotion to her father, never lost concern for her
siblings, and increasingly expressed a desire to see her mother. And so, last Thursday, God
brought the two of them together, once more.
Isabelle is survived by her son, William Rankin, his wife June Leary, and their son James Rankin
of Saco, a brother, Alton (Cub) Gammon of Limington, a sister in law Rebecca Gammon of Westbrook,
and a sister in law Lucille Gammon of Limington, as well as many nieces and nephews who
brought great joy into her life and whom she loved dearly. Besides her husband, her father and
her mother, she was pre-deceased by her brothers Lorenzo Gammon, Linwood Gammon, Walter
Gammon, Roland Gammon and Harris Gammon, her sisters Eleanor Martel, Helen Laughlin,
Olive LePage, and Ruth Watkins.
Her family would like to thank Dr. Joseph DeKay for his many years of care and also the staff
of Sealrock Healthcare for their love, their compassion, and their outstanding care during the
last six years.
Visiting hours will be held at the Poitras, Neal & York Funeral Home, 71 Maple St. (Rt. 25) in Cornish on Friday, October
20th, from 4:00 PM until 7:00PM. A funeral will be held at South Limington Free Baptist Church
at 6 Moody Rd on Saturday, October 21, at 10:00 AM., with interment to follow in Pleasant Ridge
Cemetery in Hiram.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to South Limington Free Baptist Church., PO BOX 128, Limington, Maine 04049