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BURLINGTON, Ont. - Bill Rankin, a pioneer in the development of the permanent diaconate in Canada, died Nov. 21. He was 74.
Deacon Rankin was among the first class of permanent deacons to graduate from St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto in 1974. He went on to serve at Blessed Trinity parish until 1999.
After his retirement, he and his wife, Yvette Ann Rankin, moved to Burlington. He continued to serve as a deacon at the Hamilton diocese parishes of St. Eugene’s in Hamilton and St. John’s in Burlington.
Deacon Rankin also took a lead role in helping Hamilton diocese get its permanent diaconate program off the ground. Its first class graduated in June 2006.
“Bill was an excellent man, a good friend and a very dedicated and responsible person,” said Deacon Bert Cambre, who is director of the permanent diaconate for the archdiocese of Toronto.
“He loved nature and gardening. He enjoyed company and was a very social person, fun to be with and with a good sense of humour.”
A Hamilton native, Deacon Rankin earned his living by selling steel for Stelco. However, he felt a calling to serve the Catholic Church and the permanent diaconate, revived only a few years earlier in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, beckoned.
At Blessed Trinity, besides liturgical ministry, he also visited the sick at hospitals and nursing homes, bringing them Communion and helping them in other ways.
William Russell Rankin was one of nine children born to Walter and Anne Rankin of Hamilton on Dec. 8, 1932. He married Yvette Gravelle on Oct. 2, 1954, and was ordained to the diaconate by Toronto Archbishop Philip Pocock on June 2, 1974.
Deacon Rankin was survived by his wife, children Michael, Kevin, Maureen and Kathleen, along with 14 grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass was held at St. John’s parish on Nov. 26, followed by burial in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
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