Obituary of William E. Rainey

William Edward Rainey January 12, 2017 When the death of a figure larger than life smacks you in the face, you begin to ask questions. What does it mean to dedicate your life to the service of each individual in the community in which you live? What would possess someone to take such an often un-appreciated step? Certainly it isn’t money or fame. And when the figure is your father, these questions are important to answer. This is the story of William Edward Rainey, who passed peacefully into the arms of his Lord and Savior on January 10, 2017 with his family continuously at his bedside. Bill was the 10th child of a dirt poor sharecropper who tilled the soil and tended the animals in Lebanon Ohio to support his very large family. Dad was born on December 31, 1931 on the first farm on the left going out of Lebanon on Greentree road, to Robert and Pearl Rainey. They moved quite a bit, from a farm in Morrow to a farm on Shawhan Rd and then to a farm in Oregonia often only procuring 1/3 of the profit from the farms for which they labored. It wasn’t until Grandpa Rainey became the sharecropper on a farm where the current Colony Square resides that Grandpa earned enough profit to save for his own home in retirement. These early impoverished years during the hardest times of our country impacted his view on the world. He told of times when the home they were given by a rich owner was simply a clapboard home. You could see through slats in the walls. He shared a bed with many brothers and they often awoke in the morning with snow on the bed. When WWII broke out, Dad was too young to serve. But he had 5 brothers: John, Dan, Chester, Elwood and Bob who all served at the same time and all came back safely. Dad and his young nephew, Bud, were left to shoulder all the chores that these 5 young men would have helped with, so they served in a different but hard capacity. It severely impacted his school work. In addition, Dad’s sisters: Dorothy, Julia (Niki), June, Glenna tried to fill the gap left by 5 young men. Aunt Peggy also was living with them at the time trying to help out. Dad recently told me he remembers Roosevelt’s “fireside chats”. They had a radio with a battery lifespan of 2 hours. People were so isolated in those days that when they received word that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor they didn’t know who the Japanese were nor where Pearl Harbor was located! He was an extremely handsome young man and in high school he had no shortage of girlfriends. But Barbara Joan Koch was determined to win him and she invited him to a Sadie Hawkins dance. I don’t know exactly what happened at that dance…..but when Dad would tell his version of the story, Mom vehemently denied it! If you knew my dad, you know he was a story teller extraordinaire! So who knows that the real truth is? Dad told me that he was so lovesick he had to see Mom every day. When there was a blizzard in Lebanon one year, he tried to reach her where she lived (the farm which was located where Bethesda Arrow Springs hospital now stands). But he got his car stuck in a huge snow drift on Deerfield road. He walked the rest of the way and Grandpa Koch and Mom met him at about the location of the Y today and accompanied him back to the farm where they got the tractor out and went to rescue his vehicle. I guess some things never change…when love calls, all logic runs out the window. When Dad graduated from high school during the Korean war, he enlisted in the air force and worked as a trainer in Biloxi Mississippi on cryptographic machines. He said he was so lovesick, he applied to be married and Mom joined him in Mississippi, where they were married on June 30, 1951 at 19 years of age. After Dad was discharged from the service in 1953, they moved back to Lebanon and eventually Dad started working with Grandpa Koch at the Good Housekeeping Shop in Lebanon. Grandpa was very smart, having opened the store in Lebanon in 1937 but he was a demanding boss and pay wasn’t that great. So when the Lebanon fire chief approached Dad one day in 1956 and asked him if he would be interested in joining the volunteer fire department where he would earn a whopping $3/call, he jumped at the chance. He said the very first call he had as a volunteer firefighter was a truck accident in Lebanon where the driver was killed. It sickened him. At his next call, one of the firefighters dropped dead from a heart attack. There were no paramedics back on those days but they sometimes were required to deliver babies. But he stuck it out and came to love the job. I guess you might say that Dad was a bit bossy…he could give crisp clear order, expected them to be carried out, and they nicknamed him Wild Bill. On the day of JFK’s death in 1963, the Lebanon city manager asked Dad if he would like to be the new chief. By then, Dad had three children to take care of: Nickie, Richard, and Don. So he agreed. Dad served Lebanon as Chief for 10 years from 1963 until 1973. Dad could sometimes be a mysterious dichotomy. So many years later, when the squad did their first run on Mom in 2007, that Dad was the first chief in Lebanon to fight to allow women into the fire department. I was like ‘what? no way’…..and when I asked Dad about it after things calmed down, he showed his practical streak by nonchalanting confirming the story. They were delivering babies and they needed a nurse to help so he wanted a woman on the department. He said some of the guys threatened to quit and Dad, never one to be intimidated, stood his ground. The first woman joined the department under his watch. I’m very proud of him for that. There were a lot of advantages being the child of a firefighter in those days. All the kids of firefighters could ride on the fire trucks in all of Lebanon’s parades! What fun! When some candy store burned down, the owner gave the firefighters all the candy that wasn’t burned. I remember eating the best Clark bars…..they had a lovely smoked flavor. I still think of those and wonder if unknowingly in our 1960’s universe, we ingested toxins! But boy, those candy bars were SO GOOD! Dad also found a dog in a fire once….he brought him home and we named him Smokey. Dad eventually bought the Good Housekeeping Shop from Grandpa. As a small business owner, Dad also served Lebanon as the President of the Chamber of Commerce. He worked (and had us work) on many activities and festivals sponsored by the chamber. We painted the old original Applefest signs at the back of the store and painted Santa’s little house that used to be parked in the little park next to the Golden Lamb. Dad was not only an extraordinary servant of the people, but an amazing friend and father. I don’t think I know anyone more generous than him. When we lived on Main street, Dad put in a pool. That pool was always filled with people that Dad invited to swim. So much so, we didn’t get much personal use out of it, it was so crowded! When Dad bought our grandparent’s farm, Arrow Springs, in 1968, and eventually dug the pond, he did the same thing, inviting everyone and anybody to the farm to hunt and fish. So many people were in and out of that lane, you would think it was a public place but Dad and Mom loved it all. Some of you will remember the parties that Dad and Mom had for their Republican party fundraisers. Keep those stories to yourselves please! Dad and Mom loved a good party. If they weren’t going to one they were having one. Dad always reminded me of an ornery little boy. He was doing mischievous things thatunfortunately aren’t repeatable here, but are burnt in all of our memories. Well, ok….one story…..Dad and Mom traveled around the world and I believe they were in some bar in Germany with a live band. He got a little tipsy and started throwing peanuts in the tuba players instrument! They were kicked out of the bar. He loved to play tricks on people. He had a wicked sense of humor. Dad could be a strict disciplinarian but our house was filled with laughter and love at all times. But God heard some earnest prayers and both Dad and Mom came back to the Lord and joined Cornerstone Church of God. They both until their dying days talked about the joy of serving Christ and worried constantly about their children and grandchildren’s souls, praying earnestly daily. As time took its toll on elderly bodies, it became impossible to attend this lovely church but they both loved this church and the people here. As time progressed, his family expanded. Nickie married Otis (Schatzer) and had two sons: Karl and Rob. Karl is married to Miranda and gave Papaw Bill two great grandchildren: Le’Etta and Easton. Richard married Connie and had Heather and Joe. Heather married Seth and gave Papaw Bill another great grandson: Owen. Don married Vivian and they had two daughters: Amanda and Holly. Dad loved his grandchildren, I sometimes think, more than he loved his children. Perhaps he didn’t feel the burden to mold them into good citizens. This gave him the freedom to only love and nurture each and every grandchild. Did he spoil them? Oh, yes, every chance he got. He was so proud….he was constantly bragging on all of us to the point it was embarrassing to go out with him. But he loved us all, so very very much. Mom passed away on July 20, 2008 and every day Dad would talk about how much he missed her. It left a huge hole in his heart and he never remarried. I know that Dad is now in her arms and they are enjoying everlasting peace, where no tears or pain will ever be felt again. And someday, I know our family will all be reunited. So what does it mean to dedicate your life to service? Why do nurses, doctors, police officers, firefighters… so many others in helping professions…. all work so hard for so little, sometimes losing their lives in the service of others, to help so many of us? Do we appreciate the sacrifice that they make to heal us, to take care of our homes and our children and provide us better lives? I still don’t have the answer but I know I’ve seen and lived with a man who felt the call to service and lived that calling and he passed that calling on to his two sons who willing followed in his footsteps. Dad died with his hands and his heart wide open. It was an extraordinary life of love and service, to the very end. Written by Nickie Rainey If you have stories that you wish to share about our father or mother, we would love to hear them. Please post them at Stine-Kilburn’s site or alternatively, write them in the guest book during visitation/funeral. We would love to share these with Dad’s grandchildren and great grandchildren. William Edward Rainey was preceded in death by his loving wife, Barbara Joan Rainey, parents: Robert and Pearl Rainey, parents-in-law: William and Pauline Koch, brothers: John, Chester, Dan, Elwood, Bob and sisters Julia, Thelma June, Dorothy and Glenna, and niece/sister Peggy. Still living: daughter Nickie - husband Otis Schatzer and children Karl (wife Miranda, great grandchildren: Le’Etta and Easton) and Robert: son Richard - wife Connie and children Heather (husband Seth Darrel, great grandson: Owen) and Joseph: son Donald – wife Vivian and children Amanda and Holly. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes you to donate to the church Mom and Dad loved so much: Cornerstone Church of God, 1004 Columbus Ave, Lebanon, Ohio, 45036 in their memory. Dad will be buried next to Mom and Bethany Church of Christ on 123 in Lebanon. Calling hours will be held Sunday, January 15, 2017 from 4pm until 6pm at the Cornerstone Church of God, 1004 Columbus Avenue, Lebanon, Ohio. Funeral services will be held at the church at 10am Monday, January 16, 2017. Burial with Military Honors will follow in the Bethany United Church of Christ Cemetery, 1026 South State Route 123, Lebanon, Ohio 45036.