John Ranek
SIOUX FALLS - John C. Ranek, age 89, of Sioux Falls, passed away Friday evening, December 22, 2023, at Sanford USD Medical Center.
Son of John J. and Louise (Osborn) Ranek, John was born in rural Tyndall, South Dakota, on February 21, 1934. He graduated from Tyndall High School in 1952 and SDSU in 1956 with a BS in Agricultural Economics.
On June 25, 1957, John was united in marriage to Jeanne Marguerite Marbach in Centerville, South Dakota. They were blessed with five children: Jerome, James, Julanne, Janelle, and Jason.
John began working for the US Department of Agriculture as an Agricultural Statistician, leading to a career of over 40 years. He had duty stations in Minnesota as a student trainee, in South Dakota as a statistician, in Wyoming as a deputy director, and in Washington, D.C., for eight years. During this time, he served in five different capacities, including a task force to determine the direction the agency would go in the emerging computer age. John then served as a statistician for the family living price index, then as a statistician for cattle numbers, followed by a statistician in charge of the cold storage statistics, and later moved to be in charge of all livestock statistics. In 1971, John was transferred to South Dakota to be Director of the South Dakota Agricultural Statistics Office for 25 years until retiring in 1996. During his tenure in South Dakota, he spent a month in Pakistan helping set up an agricultural statistics program for that country.
John was active on many committees and boards during his career, including Rural Development committees, Livestock expansion committees, Defense boards, and Federal Executive committee, and was an honorary member of Gama Sigma Delta, Volunteer in the M-2 program, honorary pork producer, Kiwanian of the year on two occasions and named boss of the year.
John and Jeanne’s dedication to their community and faith was apparent in their involvement with the Christian Family Movement while living in
Virginia and serving as state officers for the organization. They also helped start the Cursillo movement in South Dakota and held numerous leadership positions. John was a very active Christ the King Church member, serving in several ministries and on the parish council. Community involvement included membership in the Sioux Falls Kiwanis Club, holding most officer positions, and serving as Lt. Governor in Eastern South Dakota. He volunteered and ushered at the Washington Pavilion. His hobbies included photography and travel, having visited all but one state and an impressive 28 countries.
Grateful for sharing his life are his wife, Jeanne Ranek of Sioux Falls; sons, Fr. Jerome Ranek of Sioux Falls, James (Brenda Gamblin) Ranek of Council Bluffs, IA, and Jason (Terese) Ranek of Våle, Tønsberg, Norway; and daughters, Julanne (Paul Stoltz) Ranek-Stoltz of Wisconsin Rapids, WI, and Janelle (Brenda Lucy) Ranek of Minneapolis, MN; eight grandchildren and five (plus one on the way) great-grandchildren; brother, David (Janet) Ranek of Edmond, OK; sisters, Janet McGinnis of Yankton, SD, and Sr. Jeanne Ranek, OSB of Sacred Heart Monastery, Yankton, SD; and a host of other relatives and friends.
John was preceded in death by his parents, John and Louise Ranek. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at Christ the King Catholic Church at 1501 W. 26th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57105, on Thursday, December 28, 2023, at 10:00 AM. A visitation will also be held at the church on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, starting at 4:00 pm. The family will be present to greet friends from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, with a liturgical Wake service and Rosary to follow. Interment will occur at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Yankton, SD.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Sioux Falls Serra Club or Christ the King Catholic Church.
For the online guest book, please visit www.MillerFH.com