MARJORIE LOUISE RANKIN SCHLEI
I lived.
I was my parents’ fourth child, Marjorie Louise Rankin, born to Stanley and Adena Meissner Rankin on April 13, 1930, on the dining room table in our farm home in the Town of Lisbon in Waukesha County. I joined my brother Steve, sister Helen, and brother Gordon who waited five years for me. Quickly after I arrived, the family was blessed with my sisters DeeDee and Martha. We lived in an old world of horses and country schools and kerosene lamps. At the beginning we had peace and stability, then we went headfirst into a new world of war, excitement, fear, and cruelty. When we came back to the world we had known, it would never be the same again.
We lived between the villages of Sussex and Merton. Railroads bisected our farm, a farm with stones that had to be picked every spring and outcroppings of limestone that came to the top of the earth and made crops impossible to raise. Hard work strengthened a family whose souls were founded in God’s love, whose hearts embedded love in their children’s lives, and whose country was deeply important in their home. Citizenship and patriotism were not just something we thought of on voting day.
I, Marjorie, started at a little country school and was escorted there through the fields and over the tracks and behind the church by my faithful brother and protector, Gordon. We had a sturdy brick school building with no plumbing, two outhouses, and a coal shed.
I loved that school. I had a most wonderful teacher, hardly more than a teenager herself, Thelma Halquist Etzel. She was jolly and kept us on our toes and taught us well. I loved her spelling bees, her current events, her literature, her playground activities for us, her letting us use the big blackboards and wallboards. Because my sister Helen taught me to read and write before I started school, I skipped a grade.
When my Aunt Ethel Meissner came to the school weekly to teach music an entire world opened for me. We learned about the world of music that was available in our little country area, and we learned from our Mrs. Etzel about art history and about books that were available. Learning was heavenly!
At Hartland High School I became involved with the school newspaper, the senior play, and forensics. Because I played piano, I accompanied every group that could sing. The high school band attracted me. My freshman year I played bass and snare drums, then over the next three years I learned to play an oboe with a splendid music teacher, Mr. John Meyer. Vocal music was taught by Miss Windson. I learned so much from her.
My grades were good. I was fourth in my class and won a DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) award, a genuine honor. One of my best friends, Pat Dean Landry, remained in touch with me. I was so happy to have her in my life.
Nursing school opened a wonderful world for me at the Milwaukee County General Hospital School of Nursing. What a superior education for a group of girls who were from all parts of Wisconsin! We had great teachers. I loved living there. During my studies, I spent three months in the Milwaukee Health Department visiting poor families door-to-door.
As a student in Obstetrics, I was alone in the delivery room one late afternoon when the staff had gone to supper. A patient arrived. Quickly—before I could get to the phone—I found myself in her grip, literally, and then taking care of her, and then I delivered a baby alone. I was 19 years old.
Sometimes if I had a weekend off, I rode a Meissner Gridley Milk Truck home to Sussex. I would often get a ride on Sunday night back to the dorm from Gordon, (who enjoyed meeting my classmates, and dating some of them.)
My school had classrooms on the first floor of the dorm, and there was a great drawing room with a wonderful grand piano which I befriended at once and remained good friends with for the next three years. I had learned to read music as well as play by ear. Our lovely drawing room was the site of two formal dances each year. What a challenge to make, beg, borrow and restyle formal dresses for those affairs!
Our nursing class had a scenic graduation held outside on a September day. We followed our faculty members onto a stage while someone played a piano and a choir sang. Family members and friends were invited. In the background were the scenic ponds, and the magnificent county hospital. A scene I have never forgotten.
I was employed at MCGH full-time and continued to work there after my marriage to Ken Schlei and the preparation for my first baby, Tom. Some of my classmates had enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps and were on their way to Korea. Then for five years I was employed at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, primarily the second shift emergency department. Next, I joined the operating room for first shift and full time. At last, I experienced regular weekends off that went all the way from Friday night to Monday mornings.
What a family we were! My sister Helen became a primary school teacher. My brother Gordon became a learned farmer. My oldest brother Stephen was an Air Force Pilot, an agricultural dairy man who became a Methodist minister and who earned degrees in History and English. I joined the medical profession as a Registered Nurse with varied experiences spanning a career that lasted until retirement. My younger sister DeeDee attended business school and was a long-time school administration secretary. My youngest sister Martha worked very long as a secretary. Helen, Martha, and I spent much time in the amateur field of music. We all sang. Helen and I were pianists and organists. Gordon, Helen, and DeeDee were very talented in art and woodwork. Of these wonderful siblings, I leave behind only my beloved sister Martha.
And the children! No family gathering was without a crowd of cousins who became the best of friends. Steve and his wonderful wife Ruth brought us Rachel and Greg Rankin. Helen and the best brother-in-law John gave us Patty and John Wilson and Jim Lyon. Gordon and his perfect farming partner Mahala gave us Paul and Margaret Rankin. DeeDee and her husband Bob presented Janet and Bruce Schlei. Martha and her husband Dick added the wonderful cousins Rich and Marsha and Jane and Lisa Sorensen. And so many dear cousins added to the family, like Phil and Mary Stier.
My husband Ken and I had a little two-bedroom home on Elmwood Avenue in Sussex when our son Tom was born. Howard was born as we prepared to build a new home in the country at the edge of the Rankin farm where I grew up. I helped design a spacious three-bedroom Lannon Stone home shaded by wonderful Maple trees to the west. A year or so later Edith was born, and not long after, Mark and Susan joined our family.
I lived. I enjoyed my grandparents and an army of aunts and uncles, the dearest of which was my father’s sister Ruth, a teacher who shared so much with me growing up, and then with my own children. We were a busy group, enjoying grandparents from both sides of the family, and lots of aunts and uncles and nephews and nieces and cousins. We were blessed to have a social life that couldn’t have been better with all those family members and so many places to have picnics and parties!
My children grew and never ceased to impress and amaze me. Tom served in the U.S. Army Reserve, became a welder, became a firefighter, then Chief of the Sussex Fire Department, then earned his doctorate and taught in the firefighting field that he loved. His collection of tractors and toys never failed to entertain, and he blessed me with many years of managing my affairs and my health. Howard had his head in the clouds and answered their call by becoming a pilot and then a flight instructor. Ever creative and artistic, he eventually became an accomplished writer of books that I have enjoyed reading over and over. Edith traveled the world, joining her husband in service of God, teaching, organizing, and never seeming to stop moving, even as she raised her own family. I cherish the time we spent traveling together in Egypt, Cyprus, Isreal and Wales. Mark entered The Peace Corps and did a tour in Ghana, then found his calling in the law, first in service for the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army where he was awarded the Bronze Star, then in state government. He fostered the same love of music that I did, and he became an accomplished pianist/organist. My darling baby Susan followed my footsteps into a career in nursing. A little girl her older brothers deemed “too cute to get rid of” she enjoyed the love of the family and returned it exponentially to those in her care, eventually teaming with my beloved granddaughter Rebecca to see me through my final journey with such strength and grace as you can hardly imagine. Thank you both!
Each of my children enjoyed the rarity of successful marriages and the joy of families of their own. I was blessed to gain my beautiful daughters Heidi and Robin, and my beloved sons Bill, Vlad, and dear Rich who was taken away too soon.
And from each of these beautiful and life-long marriages came the most wonderful gift of all! Grandchildren! Tom and Heidi presented me with a true companion and neighbor Andy, my dear friend Rebecca, and the ever-cheerful Brian. Howard and Robin gave us Steve, Kevin and Rebecca whose faces and accomplishments always brought a smile to mine. Edith and Bill traveled the world with their daughters Annie and Katie, and sons Toby and Luke, who used their remarkable experiences to build wonderful lives of their own. Mark and Vlad have enjoyed introducing their son Vladislav to his American grandmother. Sue and her one-of-a-kind husband Rich added Danny, Jeff and Brittany to the family, whose spirit of adventure and heart can be traced directly to their parents.
I thought I could not be more blessed until I met 12 Great Grandchildren! Heavens! So much joy!
I lived.
I lived in a farm community that nurtured a lifelong sisterhood with neighboring farm girls, cousins and nurses Barbara Schaefer and Debbie Meissner. We shared interests, joy, hard work, and much love. May God bless you both for all that you have given me!
I lived in an apartment beside the Bug Trail that was part of the Chicago Rail that ran behind the barn. Being near the farm home has always been a great comfort for me and my family. The strength of our parents was always there for us. Dad was so strong with his heart and soul for his family. Mother became legendary as the ultimate mother and grandmother. The legacies that they have left are powerful and memorable. The little children would say “There is Grandma-Great!” I hope I am deserving of the title “Grandma-Great.”
I lived with the understanding that family is the most important facet in our lives. Ken and I were fortunate to have exceptional parents, aunts, uncles, children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren. The men and women that are part of this family tree formed wonderful branches. They are such good people, so worthy, and a source of so much pride for me and for our parents who brought all these people into the world.
I truly lived.
And now I live on in your hearts, and you will always live in mine.
And if I may, let me leave you with something that filled me with boundless joy for my entire life. From my earliest lessons with Aunt Ethel until just a month ago when my fingers found familiar keys on a piano, I have loved the gift of music. I wrote this to express that love:
THE GIFT OF MUSIC
My heart was full of music
Even though not professionally trained,
Day and night.
My ears heard it,
And could lead my fingers through the music
Whether flat or sharp, major or minor.
My eyes could find the top notes
And could help my head
Hear the chords, harmony and the rhythm.
My throat could sing.
Some day when my life is over
May God find a place in heaven where
I can sing and play.
What a joy it was to have that gift from God.
(May there be a pipe organ.)
Submitted by Marjorie Louise Rankin Schlei
P.S. If you were not mentioned by name in this, know that you are always in my heart along with Stephenson, Martha, William, Ida, Stanley, Adena, Edith, Stephen, James, Everett, Etta, Earl, Edna, Ruth, Louise, Emil, Ernst, Harold, Ethel, Armon, Evelyn, Frederick, Vera, Dorothy, Fred, Eleanor, Donald, Allan, Howard, Hazel, Wellington, Marge, Darwin, Alice, Helen, John, Stephen, Ruth, Gordon, Mahala, Adena, Bob, Martha, Dean, Patty, Mike, Cathy, Emily, Benjamin, Jimmy, Chrys, Willy, Sandy, Rachel, Greg, Margie, Margaret, Steve, Paul, Thomas, Heidi, Howard, Robin, Edith, Bill, Mark, Vlad, Susan, Rich, Janet, Corky, Bruce, Kelly, Rich, Risa, Marsha, Michael, Jane, Brad, Lisa, Willard, Esther, Barb, Mark, Dan, Debbie, Pastor Mary Jane, Ruth, Philip, Philip, Mary, Walter, Elsie, Don, Rosemary, David, Marilyn, Mike, Judy, Donna, Mark, Julie, David, Amy, Heather, Libby, Brianna, Ty, Rosalie, Jessalyn, Mary, Russ, Ron, Taneal, Annie, Toby, Stephanie, Luke, Kaitlin, Katie, Steve, Kevin, Becky, Rebecca, Brett, Andy, Rebecca, Robbie, Brian, Danny, Kathy, Jeff, Brittany, Vladislav, Victoria, Abe, Max, Willow, Naomi, Grayson, Grady, Colin, Ariana, Isabella, Hannah, Zoe, Alessandra, Grayson, and so many, many more! I love you all!
Visitation for Marjorie will be on Saturday, March 15 from 10 a.m. until the time of the funeral service at 11:30 a.m. at Schmidt & Bartelt – Sussex. Private burial will take place at Lisbon Central Cemetery in Sussex.
