Weeks 6 and 7 "We have lost a great man" Peter Rankin 1950-2018
In my last blog two weeks ago I said I'd changed my travel plans to come up north to spend some time with my sister and nieces, while my brother in law was ill. Definitely the best decision I've ever made. I have been privileged to be here, spending time with my sister's family, seeing their devotion to Peter, and hearing what a great dad he was as well as such a prominent public figure.
He was eventually able to come home from hospital a week last Friday, and died last Sunday night, peacefully, at home, in the arms of his loving family, my sister Lynn and his daughters, my nieces Jen and Gilly.
He had twice been the leader of Preston city council, for around twenty years in total. He'd done so much for the city - the headline in the Lancashire Evening Post last Tuesday was: "We have lost a great man".
With the whole front page, an editorial, and two inside pages, dedicated to him, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. The family have had piles and piles of cards and letters and tributes from every side of politics - from Jeremy Corbyn to the leader of the Tory group in the city.
And he was not only a public figure but also a devoted family man - he went on fantastic holidays with my nieces and my sister, sometimes going off separately with them to do the kind of thing they'd really enjoy (opera and foody holidays with my sister, Disneyland in Florida with Gilly. The last holiday he'd planned, which they didn't get to go on, was going to be cycling in Kerala with Jen).
Both his daughters have inherited a really strong sense of social justice from Peter, with Jen having set up "Hello Preston", a support organisation for refugees and being involved in Preston's City of Sanctuary, and Gilly, who's a dancer, having spent many hours discussing politics with her father.
And as I wrote last time, my nieces have spent every minute they could with him as his illness has progressed over the past six months - as has my sister.
Peter was an adopted Prestonian, having moved to my sister's and my home town nearly forty years ago to take up a post in the careers department at the University of Central Lancashire. He spoke in this lovely interview on Preston FM four years ago with Hughie Parr (25 mins, reproduced with permission), about how his commitment to fairness and justice came from his involvement in the Irish Civil Rights movement and the anti-Apartheid movement, about his admiration for Nelson Mandela, and about his huge pride in Preston.
A Council report proposing Peter as honorary Alderman of the city earlier this year, said:
"A man committed to no organised religion and informed by growing up with sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland he has used his position to convene and pull people together. A surprising contradiction, but a mark of the man, is that he chaired the Faiths Forum. He also promoted the Faith Covenant adopted by Council in April".
It is therefore no contradiction that Peter's best friend from university, David Chillingworth, who rose to be Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane, and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, before his recent retirement, will be presiding at his funeral, which will be held at Preston Minster this coming Monday 25 June 2018, at 11.30 a.m. All are welcome. The funeral will be followed by a lunch at Preston's Guild Hall where there'll be more chance for people to pay tribute to him.
Peter's cousin, Dr David McConnell, is honorary president of the Humanist Association of Ireland, and will speak at the private family cremation which will take place at the end of the day.
The family have asked for no flowers, but donations to the Rosemere Cancer Foundation or to Marie Curie Cancer Care.
I'll be travelling again after the funeral; next stop Sardinia (via Oxford, Portsmouth, Santander and Barcelona, with two overnight ferries and a nice stop-off at my friend Kate's)... and will be keeping in touch.
love to you all
Fiona
He was eventually able to come home from hospital a week last Friday, and died last Sunday night, peacefully, at home, in the arms of his loving family, my sister Lynn and his daughters, my nieces Jen and Gilly.
He had twice been the leader of Preston city council, for around twenty years in total. He'd done so much for the city - the headline in the Lancashire Evening Post last Tuesday was: "We have lost a great man".
With the whole front page, an editorial, and two inside pages, dedicated to him, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. The family have had piles and piles of cards and letters and tributes from every side of politics - from Jeremy Corbyn to the leader of the Tory group in the city.
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| Hollywood Studios with Gilly |
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| With Gilly and Jen in Lisbon |
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| with Lynn in Costa Rica last year |
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| With Jen in Turkey |
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| Peter and Jen doing what comes naturally |
Peter was an adopted Prestonian, having moved to my sister's and my home town nearly forty years ago to take up a post in the careers department at the University of Central Lancashire. He spoke in this lovely interview on Preston FM four years ago with Hughie Parr (25 mins, reproduced with permission), about how his commitment to fairness and justice came from his involvement in the Irish Civil Rights movement and the anti-Apartheid movement, about his admiration for Nelson Mandela, and about his huge pride in Preston.
A Council report proposing Peter as honorary Alderman of the city earlier this year, said:
"A man committed to no organised religion and informed by growing up with sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland he has used his position to convene and pull people together. A surprising contradiction, but a mark of the man, is that he chaired the Faiths Forum. He also promoted the Faith Covenant adopted by Council in April".
It is therefore no contradiction that Peter's best friend from university, David Chillingworth, who rose to be Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane, and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, before his recent retirement, will be presiding at his funeral, which will be held at Preston Minster this coming Monday 25 June 2018, at 11.30 a.m. All are welcome. The funeral will be followed by a lunch at Preston's Guild Hall where there'll be more chance for people to pay tribute to him.
Peter's cousin, Dr David McConnell, is honorary president of the Humanist Association of Ireland, and will speak at the private family cremation which will take place at the end of the day.
The family have asked for no flowers, but donations to the Rosemere Cancer Foundation or to Marie Curie Cancer Care.
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| Jen, Peter, Lynn and Gilly - in Peter's birthplace, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland. |
love to you all
Fiona
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A beautiful tribute. He sounds like a wonderful man. I remember meeting your niece Jen some years ago. Blessings to you and your family.
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