Elizabeth "Betty" McGibbon (Cowan) Rankin

She was surrounded by her loving family; David, Denise (Ed) and Eric Paul.

Betty Rankin was an amazing woman.

Mum was born Dec. 17, 1929– the last of 12 children— in the slums of Glasgow. If that wasn’t challenging enough, it was the dawn of the Great Depression.

Still, she never complained about what must have been a brutally tough life in the tenements. Instead, there were stories about bustling streets, snorting workhorses, steaming community wash houses and trips to the cinema with her loving mother to watch Nelson Eddie-Jeanette MacDonald musicals. She remembered the lyrics until her final days.

Betty also told vivid tales of World War 2 night bombings and trips to underground shelters.

She married Eric Rankin in 1951 and made a new life Canada.

They worked hard and bought a modest bungalow in east Vancouver.

It became a warm home to 3 children.

Betty taught us to respect everyone, rich or poor, powerful or powerless— but also that no one was better than us, no matter how high and mighty they seemed.

And she became a role model— excelling at whatever she did; from hand-tailoring men’s shirts, to cleaning rooms at a local motel, to becoming employee of the year at Woodwards department store. (We joked Woodwards folded the year after she retired).

In recent years, Mum survived the death of husband Eric, a recurring brain tumour, multiple surgeries, dementia and two strokes.

Yet she never lost her feisty spirit and wicked sense of humour.

In short, she kept us on our toes— in the best possible way.

We were lucky to have her as long as we did.

And we will miss her every single day.

Special thanks to management and staff at the Evergreen Baptist Campus of Care, who looked after her so well in recent years.

Cremation will be followed by a scattering of her ashes, mixed with those of her husband of 62 years.