Great Aunt Josephine

If you happened across this headstone in a cemetery in Santa Clara, California, you might not know that this is actually my Papa Rankin's aunt Josephine Rankin.  I got to do some of her temple work today, and it was pretty exciting to actually carry the name of one of my Rankin ancestors.  At first I thought she was my great grandma, I got a little confused.  I went back to look  at the family group sheet to find that she is my great grandpa's sister...you know Charles Wesley Rankin, his little sis.  Her sister in law, my real great grandma, was the famous Emma Belle Wyatt, which I bet is how my grandpa came up with his nickname for me, "Belle Starr."  Even though her last name on this headstone is Storey, she was married frst to someone named Dunn, and her oldest daughter Hazel lived in Oregon and was actually LDS.  There is a Rankin Motel in Ashton, and some Rankins up in Montana and - ta da - those are some of her children.  This is fun, I like family history, when it's my family history.  My parents would have be so surprised to know that some other Rankins joined the church hereabouts.  But probably my dad isn't so surprised anymore.

In other family history news, my grandma's birthday is this week, she would have been 102 on Wednesday, and I just found  her youngest son, my uncle Mike on facebook - my dad's youngest half brother.  I'm thinking of messaging him and asking where he buried Grandma, since he didn't tell anyone when she passed away and hasn't talked to any of us since.  He bought a nice ranch with his sole inheritance, it seems.  The benefits of not telling your four siblings when your Mom dies, after you had her change her will and such.  Family intrigue!  Marisa and Doug were just there in Placer county this week, where Grandma passed away.  At the end of her life, when she was 90 years old, Mike came to Coeur d'Alene and talked her into moving out of her retirement home and back to California with him, and sadly that was the last any of us heard of Grandma.  Her third husband had left her well invested.  From his facebook wall I can see that Mike doesn't think much of Mormons, he's not a good speller, and he is a self employed farrier who never married and has lots of younger women who seem to think fondly of him, probably because he is now loaded with Grandma's money.

In the end I am blessed to have my father's inheritance, which is his name and his faith, and also I can spell pretty well.

And this is the story of my life.