QUINTER — Winifred Litton Anderson Rankin died in Quinter, Kan., May 28, 2019, at age 94. She was born in Cheyenne Wells, Colo. on Aug. 13, 1924, to Hattie Mabel Bretton and B.W. Litton. 

Her family moved to Gove, Kan. when she was a young girl. She married her high school sweetheart, Robert “Bob” Monroe Anderson and together they had five children. They moved from Gove to Great Bend, Kan. in 1956. Her husband Bob died in an oilfield accident in 1968. She later married Duane Rankin in Wichita, Kan. and they made their home in Great Bend before retiring to Crane, Mo. and Grove, Okla. Duane passed away in 2010.  Winifred then moved to Quinter Independent Living Apartments in 2012. 

She is survived by four children, Robert (Eileen) Anderson, Denver, Colo., Raymond “Jerry” Anderson, Lincoln, Neb., Winnie Anderson Kingsbury, St. Peter, Kan., and Randy (Cathy) Anderson, Great Bend, Kan.; daughter-in-law Betty Anderson, Great Bend, Kan.; and  three step-sons, Steve Rankin, Wichita, Kan., Stanley Rankin, Wichita, Kan., and John Rankin, S.D. She loved being surrounded by her 12 grandchildren when they were young. They include, Sheri Elsen, Shele Maher, Amy Schonhoff, Kimi Bowman, Jamie Baldwin, Hunt Kingsbury, Wesley Kingsbury, Carrie Martinez, Amber Anderson, Rollie Anderson, Rob Nichols, Jason Effertz. She was also blessed with many great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.  

She was preceded in death by her husband, Duane Rankin; son Ralph “Corky” Anderson; grand-daughter Shele Maher; grand-son Jason Effertz; brother Ralph Litton; sister Leola Litton Horner.

In lieu of a funeral, Winifred requested her children and grandchildren gather and release balloons in her honor. The Great Balloon Release will be 3 p.m. Friday, May 31, Black Angus Best Western Inn, Great Bend, Kan.

Funeral arrangements provided by

Schmitt Funeral Home 

901 South Main

Quinter, KS 67752

Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, May 31, 2019