Services
Obituary
Barbara J. (Rankin) Csomay, 90, of Kanawha passed away Sunday, November 1, 2015 at the Kanawha Community Home in Kanawha.
Funeral services for Barbara Csomay will be held on Thursday, November 5, 2015, at 10:30 AM at the United Methodist Church, 402 North Main Street in Kanawha, with Pastor Mark Heath officiating.
Visitation for Barbara Csomay will be held from 4:00 – 6:00 PM on Wednesday, November 4, 2015, at Ewing Funeral Home, 118 East Second Street in Kanawha, and will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Thursday.
Barbara was born in Rake, Iowa to Charles and Ruth (Simpson) Rankin on March 1, 1925. She was raised on the family farm and graduated from Kanawha High School in 1942. Following her high school graduation, Barbara attended Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa, graduating in 1946 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music. Upon graduation, she obtained her teaching certificate and began her teaching career in Fayette and Garner, Iowa as an instrumental music and marching band instructor. To further her education in her chosen career, Barbara attended graduate school in the summer of 1951 for music education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and then, returned to graduate school full-time, receiving her Master of Arts degree in music education from the University of Iowa in Iowa City in 1956. While attending the University, Barbara was a member of the University of Iowa Marching Band staff. Following her graduation, she then accepted a special assignment to teach school at an armed forces installation in Heidelberg, Germany.
When her Heidelberg assignment ended, she was unemployed and back in the States. Then, according to Barbara, “fate and good fortune” looked her way when the superintendent at Parma High School in Ohio contacted the University of Iowa looking for an instrumental and marching band instructor to immediately start the new school year in just four days. The University of Iowa referred the superintendent to “Miss Rankin”. During a hectic week in 1958, Barbara flew to Parma on a Friday, was interviewed and hired that same day. She flew back to Iowa on Saturday, packed her bags on Sunday, and then drove to Parma, a Cleveland suburb, to start work on Wednesday and thus, began a ten year teaching career at Parma. Two years later, in 1960, the Parma newspaper reported on Miss Rankin as follows, “So Parma, largest high school in Ohio, has a woman band director, believed to be the only one in the area guiding a major school band. And she has shaped her 138-piece organization so masterfully that the Parma band will be helping put on the half –time show at the Stadium today, where the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants are clashing”. Barbara dearly loved her time at Parma High School and earned the respect of her peers and most importantly, her students. There was only one thing that would ever cause Barbara to leave her position at Parma High School. As she explained in her letter of resignation to the Parma school superintendent dated April 29, 1968, “I shall always be grateful. I would never leave Parma for another band – only for Dick”, announcing her upcoming marriage to the love of her life, Richard Csomay, on July 14, 1968.
Following their marriage, Barbara and Dick lived at their home in Tarzana, California and also, on the Rankin home farm in Kanawha, making sure they were in Kanawha each year during the planting and harvest seasons. During those years, the farms were custom farmed, most notably by Leroy Cooper, Virgil Mourlam and Steve Bosma, so Dick and Barb remained quite involved in their farming operation, with Barbara, in particular, pricing crop inputs and diligently watching the grain markets. Their partnership in farming and in life only ended with Dick’s death on November 19, 2005.
However, with their commitment to community and their recognition of the importance of their faith and to education and healthcare, Dick and Barbara leave many lasting legacies behind. They embraced their Methodist faith and their church community at the Kanawha Methodist Church. Area students will continue to receive the Richard and Barbara Csomay Scholarships awarded through the West Hancock Scholarship Fund. For students at Upper Iowa University, there will be the Csomay endowed scholarship and the University’s honors program, known as the “Csomay Center for Honors”. At the University of Iowa, in addition to nursing student scholarships, the “Barbara and Richard Csomay Center for Gerontological Excellence” at the College of Nursing will continue to advance research and training for nurses to provide patient-centered care meeting the unique needs of older adults. Through the University of Iowa School of Music, to honor her professional career and Barbara’s mentor, Fred Ebbs, an endowed scholarship will benefit students pursuing band conducting as their profession. Their philanthropy will further advance Parkinson’s disease research at the Mayo Clinic.
Guided Home by her faith in her Lord and with appreciation for the stewards of her earthly gifts, Barbara is now at peace with her loved ones.
Barbara is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Dick; her beloved parents and beloved brother, Keith Rankin.
Surviving Barbara are several of Dick’s nieces and nephews and many dear friends including, Sue Fritsche of California; Emily Wilson of Ohio; and locally, Grace Stille; Leroy and Nancy Cooper; Virgil and Marcella Mourlam; Steve and Sue Bosma; and Joyce and Joe McDonald.