Brad Dokken: From game warden to family man -- Gary Rankin's oldest daughter shares memories of her dad

Feb. 9—The death of longtime district game warden Gary Rankin last week left a huge void in northeast North Dakota's outdoors landscape. Rankin, of Larimore, North Dakota, died Wednesday, Jan. 31.

He was 72 years old.

Rankin,

who retired in May 2013 after a 36-year career with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department — all in Larimore — was without question one of the finest people I've ever met in my years covering the outdoors. He always had time for me if I called him about a story or just to see what was going on; he wasn't shy about suggesting story ideas, either.

Everyone, it seemed, knew Gary Rankin. I sure am going to miss him.

I last saw Rankin on a hot Saturday afternoon last August during the Grand Forks Downtown Street Fair. We had a nice chat, and it was obvious that he enjoyed retirement and keeping on the go, whether on western hiking trips in the mountains with his wife, Susan, enjoying the cabin he built along the Sheyenne River or any of the countless other activities that kept him busy.

Before parting ways that afternoon, we said we'd get together for coffee sometime.

I wrote a

feature obituary about Rankin last week

that further confirmed how loved, respected and admired he was by those who knew him. Hearing that I was writing the story, his oldest daughter, Emily Rankin, of Waterloo, Belgium, emailed to share several thoughts and memories of her dad.

"We adored him — and I think pretty much everyone else in North Dakota did, too," Emily wrote.

My deadline had come and gone when Emily's email arrived so I wasn't able to use any of the stories she shared about her dad, but I thought I'd share some of them here.

"People knew Dad as a professional of integrity, with great kindness and fairness (and humbleness) in how he went about his work as a game warden," Emily wrote. "I don't know if they knew what a gift he was in his personal life as well."

Here, in Emily's words, are some examples:

* "Despite the crazy hours he worked as a game warden, he made it to every single track meet, ball game, state music competition, etc., that my sister and I had as North Dakota teenagers from a small-town Class B school."

* "He got up at the crack of dawn every morning and made our family breakfast and got my brother, who has cerebral palsy, ready."

* "After long hours of work for Game and Fish, he'd be helping us with homework, assisting my brother with his needs, throwing discus or shooting hoops with us into twilight, shoveling snow, etc. He was the epitome of a family man."

* "He took us kids all over the Midwest, camping, seeing historical sites, hiking, etc. I have every word to every Doors and Guess Who (song) memorized because he replayed them over and over and over on road trips. We had a big brown van that could carry us, my brother's wheelchair, a chest of food and our camping equipment."

* "He taught me to hunt, and some of my happiest memories are crouched at the edge of a slough at dawn, waiting for ducks. I also spent many hours muskrat trapping, ice fishing, chasing deer out of shelterbelts, etc., which honestly sometimes I disliked, but it made me feel close to him."

* "Getting phone calls in the middle of the night — and out he'd go to nab a poacher ... or he'd settle a wildlife bet between two drunk guys."

* "He built a cabin along the Sheyenne River and cleared walking trails through the woods, naming each one after each of his grandchildren. He put a zipline and climbing frames in the woods there for them, too, plus a kayak launch; he and Mom had hoped it could be a public kayak stop and community hub one day."

* "He carved stunning canes out of diamond willow and gifted them. I enjoyed hunting for the twisted sticks with him in the woods."

* "In retirement, he memorized folk poems like

'The Cremation of Sam McGee'

and recited them to us over campfires."

* "He built many things — a garage, a deck, an ornate fire pit, a fenced garden — he was talented."

* "He liked baking bread and making stews and other things from game."

* "He was instrumental in establishing the North American Game Warden Museum at the International Peace Garden; I remember him carrying raffle tickets everywhere to sell as a fundraiser for it. He and his close friend Ron Hunsberger even made some of the exhibits, from what I've heard. It's a beautiful museum."

* "Watching him help everyone and anyone, from putting up snow fences for elderly rural people to opening our home to flood victims to serving on church council. He wouldn't take pay for coaching track at Larimore High School because his job meant he couldn't be at every practice and meet — but of course, he was at pretty much every practice and meet."

* "Especially after we kids left the nest, he filled his time doing things for others."

Rankin is survived by his wife, Susan, Larimore; children, Emily Rankin (Ben Wermerskirchen), of Waterloo, Belgium; William Rankin, of Grand Forks; Erin Rankin (Brandon Brayfield), of Hastings, Minnesota; and grandchildren Silas Brayfield, Ilona Wermerskirchen, Esme Brayfield and Lukas Wermerskirchen.