In Loving Memory

Ranie Marlane Girnus

On March 1st 2023, God called back my beautiful wife to… Well, we all know how this is supposed to read, but I suspect Ranie went to heaven to give God a little tune up about the way He's been running things down here. Well, good luck to both of you on that one. Ranie was born on October 4th 1965 to Paul and Rita Hanson, and with her younger brother Paul Jr spent her early years in the Spokane area before moving to Chewelah. During this time, as sometimes happens, Ranie also lived with her second mother Randa Farnsworth, a wonderful loving person that helped her through a difficult time. Randa was her best friend Kelley's mother, who took her in as her own, and we are all grateful for the commitment she made.

I met Ranie shortly after she moved to Chewelah, and knew that I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. So, about that, our first 'date', and the first time I kissed her, was May 18th 1980. As I left her house that afternoon, a black apocalyptic wall came over the western sky, blotted out the sun, and rained ash for days. I should have taken that as a sign, and I'm here to tell you, if you ignore something like that, you better be prepared for a wild ride. We were married on March 11th 1983, and later that year had our first son Gus IV. He was and is the light of her life until our second son Chance came along and that light doubled. These two magnificent specimens of male awesomeness were from there on, the main focus of her life. Thankfully, she had no trouble being the hard-core disciplinarian that turned them into the men they are today. This is significant, because these are the men that risk their lives every day to keep your power on and your phones working, not whining about pronouns.

During the 80's Ranie worked for and became lifelong friends with Wayne and Mary Barbour, who she loved and missed until the day they left us. Not enough can be said about these wonderful people and what they meant to our family. Also, during this time, she worked at the Chewelah bowling alley, became a very accomplished bowler and is something she enjoyed for most of her life. She became very good friends with Margaret Burya, another awesome mother to us all. In the 90's she worked for Alcoa at the Northwest Alloys plant in Addy and made many lifelong friends there and touched many people. During one layoff, Ranie went back to school and earned a degree in social work, but when the time came, put that aside and came back to the smelter until it closed. She then transferred to the Messina NY plant and worked there for a couple years until retiring. I know the years at NWA were the best of her life and would still be there if it were still operating. Everything she did, she strove to be the best, something I will attribute to her mother.

Our son Gus married Calli Elliot and brought four beautiful children into the world; Emmy, Gus V, Grisham, and Ellie. This brought Kip, Amy, Charlie, Kaylee and Cruz into our lives and it would be impossible to imagine the last ten years without them in it. Chance brought Courtney and her sons Justin and Ethan into our lives and they have also been a blessing as part of our extended family.

Ranie is survived by her husband of forty years Gus Girnus, sons; Gus and Chance, grandchildren; Emmy, Gus, Grisham, and Ellie. Her parents; Paul Hanson Sr. and Rita Vickery. Brother, Paul Hanson Jr and numerous nieces and nephews.

I would like to thank Dr. Boone and Nurse Susan for taking the time to help us at the end, that kind of care is a rarity these days. Hospice got there in the nick of time, thank you Cindy and their nurses. I feel I should mention the people that meant the most to her, her father who is crushed by this, who was there for her any time, any place for anything. Uncle Lonny, Auntie Christy, Sissy, Kelley, Mary, Lynnette, Brenda, Jeanne, Garcy, all of my family, and many more that I am missing.

Ranie was fortunate to be able to spend the last 10 years camping at Waitts Lake during the summer, and spent the winters planning our next vacation and quilting. There will not be an immediate service, as Ranie despised the winter, so when the sun is shining and grass is green there will be a celebration at the lake in her favorite place.

So as I sit here trying, and failing to sum up your life in a few paragraphs, I will always remember the last loving words you spoke to me, 'STOP HOVERING', as I was trying to get you comfortable. We all know that by now, you have found that perfect spot, on that perfect beach and are there waiting for us. For you, it will be the blink of an eye until you see us again, but for us it will seem an eternity. I will see you soon enough my love, and you better have my dogs with you.