Margareta Rankin

Margareta Weber Rankin passed away in Laredo, Texas on Friday, May 23, 2014 at the age of 94. She was born in Innsbruck, Austria on May 25, 1919 and was the only child of her parents, Leopoldo Weber and Maria Mair Weber. She was married to her husband David L. Rankin for 58 years. Margareta was an Air Force wife and took great pride in creating a true home wherever they were stationed. Margareta graduated from the University of Innsbruck as a registered Pharmacist. During her graduation, Adolf Hitler visited her graduating class and shook hands with all of the graduates who sat in the front row; Margareta, being short was seated on the front row. During World War II, Margareta was employed at a Pharmacy in Munich, Germany. The US Air Corps, heavy bombers, bombed the Munich Germany Air Base and part of Munich. Margareta's boss asked her to go into the basement to get supplies and bring them upstairs. While Margareta was in the basement, a heavy bomb hit the pharmacy and killed all personnel, her being the only exception. She managed to get out of the pharmacy through an opening. Since she no longer had a job, she decided to join the French Resistance forces in Munich. While delivering a message for the resistance forces, she was caught by the German Gestapo and was placed in a German prison in the outskirts of Munich. An Austrian Military Officer working in the office of the prison, forged release papers and arranged for her release. Once released from prison, Margareta packed her suitcase and walked one hundred miles to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Margareta had an aunt and a cousin in Garmisch so she visited them and her aunt fixed her a lunch box to take along on her journey. She continued her walk to Innsbruck which was approximately fifty miles in the Alpine mountains. When Margareta reached home, her mother was glad to see her, since she did not know whether her daughter was safe or not. While David was stationed in France during the sixties, Margareta enrolled in the University of Maryland with an outstanding scholarship and was in the upper fifth percent of her class and was placed upon the Academic Honor Roll. Margareta learned to ski at the age of six. As an adult, she skied down the Alpine mountains at speeds of seventy miles per hour. She was not a professional skier, however she enjoyed to ski as a sport. While working as a pharmacist, Margareta created her own small lipstick factory. She created her own colors which did not exist in the market. Margareta loved to speak foreign languages and spoke German, French, Italian, English and Spanish. One of Margareta's main hobbies was knitting. Just before going to the hospital, she was knitting a sweater which remained unfinished. She is survived by her husband, David L. Rankin; sisters-in-law, Lucille Nolan and Cecille Turner; as well as by numerous nieces and nephews. A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, May 28, 2014 from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at Joe Jackson North Funeral Chapels, 1410 Jacaman Rd. A Religious Service will commence at 2 p.m. A private inurnment will be held at a later date. You may express your condolences and sign the guestbook online at: www.joejacksonfuneralchapels.com Arrangements have been entrusted to the funeral service professionals at Joe Jackson North Funeral Chapels, 1410 Jacaman Rd., Laredo, Texas 78041; (956) 722-8850.