1929
Paul
2011
Paul Ranum
February 22, 1929 — March 9, 2011
Funeral services for Paul Ranum of Glenwood will be held Monday, March 14, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at Fron Lutheran Church in Starbuck, MN. Reverend Paul Johnson will be officiating. Visitation will be held Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Starbuck Funeral Home in Starbuck and for one hour prior to services at the church on Monday.
Paul Arthur Ranum was born February 22, 1929, in Starbuck, Minnesota. He was the fifth of eight children born to Arthur and Agnes (Kirkwold) Ranum, and grew up on the family farm. Paul graduated from Starbuck High School in 1947, and went on to attend Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, graduating in 1952. After college, he attended Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1956.
On September 7, 1956, Paul married Sylvia Almlie, whom he had met at Luther College. Paul and Sylvia moved to Newport, Washington, where he served as pastor to two congregations: American Lutheran Church in Newport and Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Spirit Lake, Idaho. Four of their five children – Eric, Marc, Heidi, and Gretchen – were born in Newport. The family moved to Laurel, Montana in 1962, where Paul served as pastor at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, and where the fifth child, Ingrid, was born. In 1969, Paul accepted a call to serve Bethesda Lutheran Church in Alexandria and Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Nelson, Minnesota. The family lived in Alexandria until 1979, when Paul became a District Minister with the Southwestern Minnesota District Office of the American Lutheran Church, and later as Synod Minister with the Southwestern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a position he held until his retirement in 1994.
Upon his retirement, Paul and Sylvia moved to Starbuck. They purchased the building site and 25 acres of the family farm where he had grown up and built a new home on the site of the old house. As much as Paul enjoyed retirement and being back in his old stomping ground, his work in the church kept calling him back. Over the next ten years, he served as interim pastor at American Lutheran Church in Windom, Fron Lutheran Church in Starbuck, and Providence Valley Lutheran Church in Dawson, and as an Interim Synod Minister with the Southwestern Minnesota Synod.
In 2002, Paul was called out of retirement to serve as Bishop for Southwestern Minnesota during the interim while the Synod went through the process of electing a new Bishop. He served in this capacity until August of 2003. Sadly, Sylvia passed away later that year after a long illness.
On May 28, 2006, Paul married Caryl Nelson and moved to Glenwood, Minnesota, starting another new chapter of his life. Together they enjoyed the outdoors, travelling, and spending time with all of their family.
Paul Ranum was a warm and caring man who put his best personal strengths into his relationships. A farm boy from Minnesota, he nevertheless loved immersing himself in the timber and mining communities of the Pacific Northwest and a rail-and-ranch town in central Montana. He wasn't a pastor who saw his parishioners only in church. In all of the parishes he served, he was present in the life of the community, from high-school sporting events to service organizations to local leadership (such as the board of directors of the Knute Nelson Nursing Home). In his capacity with the Synod office, he worked with churches throughout southwest Minnesota on placing pastors, conflict resolution, and other interpersonal issues. Above all, he was a devoted and loving family man in all of his relationships, as son, brother, husband, and father.
Paul died on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, MN. He lived to reach the age of 82 years.
Paul is survived by his wife, Caryl Nelson; son Eric and daughter-in-law MaryBeth (Coeur D'Alene, Idaho); daughter Heidi and son-in-law Jerry Johnson (Buckley, Washington); daughter Gretchen and son-in-law Dan Poffenberger (Stillwater, Minnesota); daughter Ingrid and son-in-law Mark Herrman (Spokane, Washington); grandsons Andrew and Soren Poffenberger and Caleb and Joshua Ranum; sisters Julia Mason and Alice Drake; brothers Harold and John; and many nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Agnes Ranum; his brothers Ernest, Ralph, and David; his wife Sylvia and son Marc.
Paul Arthur Ranum was born February 22, 1929, in Starbuck, Minnesota. He was the fifth of eight children born to Arthur and Agnes (Kirkwold) Ranum, and grew up on the family farm. Paul graduated from Starbuck High School in 1947, and went on to attend Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, graduating in 1952. After college, he attended Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1956.
On September 7, 1956, Paul married Sylvia Almlie, whom he had met at Luther College. Paul and Sylvia moved to Newport, Washington, where he served as pastor to two congregations: American Lutheran Church in Newport and Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Spirit Lake, Idaho. Four of their five children – Eric, Marc, Heidi, and Gretchen – were born in Newport. The family moved to Laurel, Montana in 1962, where Paul served as pastor at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, and where the fifth child, Ingrid, was born. In 1969, Paul accepted a call to serve Bethesda Lutheran Church in Alexandria and Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Nelson, Minnesota. The family lived in Alexandria until 1979, when Paul became a District Minister with the Southwestern Minnesota District Office of the American Lutheran Church, and later as Synod Minister with the Southwestern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a position he held until his retirement in 1994.
Upon his retirement, Paul and Sylvia moved to Starbuck. They purchased the building site and 25 acres of the family farm where he had grown up and built a new home on the site of the old house. As much as Paul enjoyed retirement and being back in his old stomping ground, his work in the church kept calling him back. Over the next ten years, he served as interim pastor at American Lutheran Church in Windom, Fron Lutheran Church in Starbuck, and Providence Valley Lutheran Church in Dawson, and as an Interim Synod Minister with the Southwestern Minnesota Synod.
In 2002, Paul was called out of retirement to serve as Bishop for Southwestern Minnesota during the interim while the Synod went through the process of electing a new Bishop. He served in this capacity until August of 2003. Sadly, Sylvia passed away later that year after a long illness.
On May 28, 2006, Paul married Caryl Nelson and moved to Glenwood, Minnesota, starting another new chapter of his life. Together they enjoyed the outdoors, travelling, and spending time with all of their family.
Paul Ranum was a warm and caring man who put his best personal strengths into his relationships. A farm boy from Minnesota, he nevertheless loved immersing himself in the timber and mining communities of the Pacific Northwest and a rail-and-ranch town in central Montana. He wasn't a pastor who saw his parishioners only in church. In all of the parishes he served, he was present in the life of the community, from high-school sporting events to service organizations to local leadership (such as the board of directors of the Knute Nelson Nursing Home). In his capacity with the Synod office, he worked with churches throughout southwest Minnesota on placing pastors, conflict resolution, and other interpersonal issues. Above all, he was a devoted and loving family man in all of his relationships, as son, brother, husband, and father.
Paul died on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, MN. He lived to reach the age of 82 years.
Paul is survived by his wife, Caryl Nelson; son Eric and daughter-in-law MaryBeth (Coeur D'Alene, Idaho); daughter Heidi and son-in-law Jerry Johnson (Buckley, Washington); daughter Gretchen and son-in-law Dan Poffenberger (Stillwater, Minnesota); daughter Ingrid and son-in-law Mark Herrman (Spokane, Washington); grandsons Andrew and Soren Poffenberger and Caleb and Joshua Ranum; sisters Julia Mason and Alice Drake; brothers Harold and John; and many nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Agnes Ranum; his brothers Ernest, Ralph, and David; his wife Sylvia and son Marc.
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