Obituaries of Lawrence Robert Ranck and Edwin Francis Harvilchuck
March 8, 1945 - December 6, 2022
LAWRENCE'S OBITUARY
Lawrence Robert Ranck,77, of Wyoming, PA, died peacefully at home. His widow is the former Jean Berardi. The couple was married for 45 years.
Born in Scranton, growing up in Clarks Summit, PA, he was the son of the late Sherman and Loretta Schneider Ranck. He attended Abington Heights High School where he played football, basketball and track. He attended Lackawanna College, Pennsylvania School of banking at Bucknell and the Stonier Banking School at Rutgers University. Prior to retirement, he worked as a Senior VP of the Consumer Credit Division at Citizens Bank. He was past President of the Scranton Chapter of the American Institute of banking. He was a member of the Wyoming Valley Country Club where he enjoyed playing golf and cards with his friends. He was a big fan of the New York Giants and the San Francisco Giants. Lawrence will be remembered as a loving husband, father and grandfather who always put his family first.
Surviving are children, Rick and Susan Griffin, Laura Kinney, Clarks Summit, PA, Anthony and Erin Grant, Ashburn, VA, Donna and Joe Barr, West Chester, PA; Grandchildren, Erica, Hailee, Brian, Olivia and William; Sister Ann Covey, Olyphant, PA; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his brothers, David and Sherman and a nephew Christopher.
A celebration of life will be scheduled in the near future.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Lawrence E. Funeral Home and Cremation Services Inc., 418 S. State Street, Clarks Summit.
To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of Lawrence Robert Ranck, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.
July 19, 1928 - December 6, 2022
EDWIN'S OBITUARY
Edwin Francis Harvilchuck has died at age 94 and almost 1/2. Several days after stating “I just ate too much turkey,” it was discovered that his bowels had revolted and this proved too much for his nearly antique physique. I must mention that indeed the turkey was not at all to blame as Edwin was a fine upstanding fellow and would not have wished for turkeys nor their cook to be falsely implicated. Indeed he enjoyed turkey occasionally- both the light and the dark meat.
Edwin was born on July 19th, 1928 in Peckville, Pennsylvania as the middle child of Nicholas and Eva Harvilchuck, a nurse and a coal mining farmer. He is preceded in death by both parents as well as older brother Nicholas. Younger brother Rudolph still plays saxophone happily out in California. Edwin played a little piano when he was young but really could only play some tune about Billy and Betty going up the hill. He was a renown concertinist who also dabbled in the dulcimer and the 4-holed ocharina. For those that do not know, these are unusual instruments as he was an unusual man.
After a formidable bachelorhood, he fell in love with Marilyn Lee Dewitt back in the late 60s even though she was a divorcee which was then considered quite scandalous. She was beautiful and baked a fine apple pie. He forgot his wallet on their first date to Archibald state parks “Pennsylvania Pothole” but made it all okay as he told her it was one of the seven natural wonders of the world. She believed him and they were married. She had two young daughters whom he lovingly raised-Gina Mertens (married to Franklin, of Hopewell PA) and Shelly Adams (married to Carl “Earl” of Southport, NC). Together they had Dr. Helen Eva Thornburg -now of Naples, FL. He has been voted “Best Dad Ever” many times as demonstrated on numerous coffee mugs and then promoted to “Best Grandad Ever” by his numerous grandchildren whom he loved fiercely. They are Travis Bryan and Troy Bryan of Southport, NC as well as a lot of Thornburgs: Gabriella, Madeline, Chloe, Lillian, Charlotte, Edwin Fletcher, Isabella Rose and Nicholas, of Naples, Florida. Great grandchildren Ethan, Maxson, Cain, Penelope and Beckum Bryan live in North Carolina.
He had many occupations in life but provided well for his family by driving professionally. He was a proud Teamster and enjoyed driving double tractor trailers. When he retired, had a sometime stint as the short school bus driver and enjoyed laughing with his special passengers. He always had a smile. He volunteered and taught many new immigrants to speak English and helped many others learn to read as well.
In fact, he always had a book as a companion and read roughly one large novel daily. He had a fantastic memory and intellect in that he knew a great deal about a bit of everything. He was a whiz in school and graduated high school at age 15. He could have actually graduated a year earlier than this, however he declined this offer as he believed he was way shorter than a high school graduate ought to be.
He was a most gifted and professional artist as he once sold his tree trunk carving of a wooden Indian for $50. He drew fantastic cartoons-often of women with protuberant noses. A neighbor once asked him to illustrate a children’s book about crows and so he did. He painted beautifully and doodled many funny creatures on lunch bags throughout the years. A tremendous poet, he was thinking of publishing his collection- which is considered quite good by most funny-poem-loving people. He did a bit of silversmithing and also invented numerous wacky items such as the pneumatic self-ejecting apple corer and most recently the ‘purse snatcher’ of which he is most proud. It held up Marilyn’s purse in the car and gave him more room as he eventually grew after graduating high school.
During his adventurous years, he enjoyed driving fast, motorcycle racing both up mountains and on ice, fishing as well as sailing. He had a cutter-rigged ketch for a long while christened the Marilyn D, however he did not sail much as the real Marilyn D did not love sailing and he loved the real Marilyn D. So they went to Bluegrass events and watched trains. In his 90s he took up boxing at the senior center in Southport, NC as well as pickle ball. He was so popular that he had to remind his admiring septuagenarian lady pickle ball opponents that he was a married man! He enjoyed billiards and bocce but would get rather upset if anyone lost the pallino. Once his sweet wife had to go to memory care for dementia, they both moved to the Pittsburgh area where he spent some time admiring the fascinations of barge transportation as well as his all time favorite- locomotives and rail transport.
A true renaissance man, he was loved and admired by everyone that knew him and absolutely adored by his family. Please join us in praying for the repose of his soul and in celebrating his life at Lawrence E. Young Funeral Home in Clarks Summit, PA Saturday December 10, 2022. Viewing is at 10 am with service at 11 am followed by interment at Milwaukee cemetery.
To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of Edwin Francis Harvilchuck, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.