Rankin was born in 1916 on a farm near Arcanum in Darke County. Although she helped on the family farm, she followed in her father’s footsteps and studied education in college after graduating from Franklin Township High School in 1934.
Despite an interruption in her studies, she eventually graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education. While in school, she directed the band.
In 1955, she moved to Tokyo, where she worked for the Department of Defense and taught in the Yoyogi School. In 1957, she transferred to the DOD school in Berlin and remembers having to cover the windows of the train at night as they traveled through East Germany to reach their destination. From Berlin, she moved to the German city of Kaiserslautern followed by a teaching position at the DOD school in Paris and then back to Germany, where she was the music supervisor of the DOD schools in Munich.
“I was over there about eight years when I decided that I better come home,” said Rankin, who returned to Dayton, where she worked for the Dayton City Schools until retiring in 1981.
“Over the years, I gardened wherever there was a patch of earth to do it,” Rankin said.
Rankin joined the Centerville Garden Club in 1984 after her neighbor, Elizabeth Frank, who is now deceased, brought her to a meeting. Under the direction of President Pam Tilton, the Centerville Garden Club is celebrating its 80th anniversary. During the years, Rankin served as president and remained active. She is one of five Garden Club members celebrating 25 years or more in the group, including Jane Moyer, Mary Tape, Lakie Hart and Peg Newill.
She was instrumental in introducing new members to the club like Mitzi Lowery-Lehman, who is in charge of planning monthly educational programs for the group as the program chairwoman.
“Dorothy worked for a long time at the barn that we used to own on Social Row Road,” said Centerville Garden Club member, Marsha Schwieterman.
Proceeds from the 2003 sale of the barn allow the group to focus instead on educational and civic projects like maintaining the Alzheimer’s garden at the St. Leonard Retirement Home and the herb garden at Benham’s Grove and providing funds to the Garden Club of Ohio, Inc., scholarship fund.
Rankin plans to help at the Centerville Garden Club booth located in front of Benham’s Grove during the Americana Festival.
“We provide information to the public about gardening and the Garden Club,” said Rankin, of the group, which can be joined by calling (937) 848-3170, or e-mailing fbellbrook@aol.com.
In addition to gardening, Rankin also is a member of the Dayton Woman’s Club, the Dayton Music Club and Delta Omicron International Music.
Rankin sings in the choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton and is a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Ikebana flower arranging group.
Contact this columnist at (937) 432-9054 or jjbaer@aol.com.
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