Sherry Keeling Rankin

October 18, 1962 - August 26, 2020

Sherry Lynn Keeling Rankin came into this world on October 18th 1962 kicking and screaming, I always thought she would go out the same way but instead she ditched us for the afterlife on August 26th 2020. I am pleased to say she went peacefully in her sleep. It is no secret that my mother lived a very rough life, but what a lot of people don’t know is just how much my mother LIVED! She was so full of life, so smart and exciting, outspoken and courageous. She wore many hats and played many roles, a “Jill of all Trades” so to speak. She lived the adventurous life of a biker, a farm girl, a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend, an outdoorswoman, a survivor and her favorite role of them all was Nana!
She collected many adopted children along the way, she loved being a mother. She was a wonderful mother. Her charisma inspired many. Will Rogers said “I never met a man I didn’t like” she was much the same, she saw the greatness in everyone, she saw the good in people and believed that everyone has a purpose and worth. She was amazing like that. Her dear friend Bambi told me “well she struck me as the type that would gladly give up her only bra for someone who desperately needed it. No joke!” For real. She would have. She got that from Truman and MaeBelle Rogers, although most of us just call them Granny and Grandpa. They meant the world to mom, they taught her unconditional love and how to perform surgery on a hog (yep! She did!), there is that farm girl part. Her life on that little farm in Sapulpa, Oklahoma would forever shape her into the tough, kind, loving woman that she grew to be. She sure didn’t take much crap from anyone. She had a VOICE! I am going to absolutely miss her voice. She stood firm in her beliefs, she stood up for the injustices in the world and believed in equal rights. She worked so hard to put herself through college while being an amazing parent to a wild teenager (not me lol). She graduated in the top of her class making the Dean’s list and the president’s list (but George Bush was in office so she couldn’t have cared less). She was a practical jokester. April fools in our house have always been adventurous (even the time she tried to tell me a tornado was headed to our house before school and had me hiding in the hallway with blankets). She was so much fun and I haven’t even scratched the surface.
When I asked my children what they will miss the most about their Nana Lucy said that she will miss “how Nana would build us a fort and castle, camping, playing in the park, Easter egg hunting, making cookies for Santa, she was just the best Nana ever”. Coleman said “Nana was the best cooker ever (she really was a great cook), I will also miss her morning tickles and when she would read me the Sugar Plum tree, I am also gonna miss her big hugs, her stories, and when she would bury me in the sand at the beach”. She really was the best. Sorry if this is long and winded but she wouldn't have had it any other way.
Her surviving family include myself, Tiffany Amanda and my children Coleman and Lucy, My brother Jeremy and his daughter Violet, her siblings Carl Jr., Carla, Tammy, and Zella. She also had a plethora of nieces, nephews, adopted siblings, adopted kids, and more friends than I can even imagine, and from all over the world too. She joined a handful of loved ones in the afterlife including her parents, granny and grandpa, Chain, her older brother Herbert “Eugene” and older sister Vonnie Sue and so many more.
Services for my mom are “yet to be determined” at the moment, she would haunt me if I gathered people on her behalf during the pandemic. Thank you to everyone that was there for my mom throughout the years, she was blessed to have such amazing people in her life but we were even more blessed to have known her.
 
Lastly, I want to thank every single one of you that has made a donation to help take care of mom, every single donation is appreciated. Also, thank you to Virgil T Golden Funeral Services for taking such great care of my mom and being patient with me during this devastating time, you all have been amazing.
 
With Love, Tiffany