Carol Ann DiPrima Rankin, born on April 3, 1961 in Groton, Mass., passed away surrounded by her family on Feb. 18, 2022 at Maine Medical Center in Portland as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident.
Carol graduated from Lunenburg High School in Massachusetts in three years, skipping her junior year because of outstanding academic performance. She then moved to Raleigh, N.C. where she made many friends who can be considered her extended family.
After moving back to Massachusetts, she married Mathew Jones and moved to Maine where she found love for the people and the community.
On Aug. 24, 1996 she married Michael A.C. Rankin, of Wiscasset.
A waitress by profession but a true caregiver at heart, she always went out of her way to help those in need. She would greet you with a smile and welcome you to talk a while, making everyone she met feel like they had known her for years.
Carol was a spiritual mystic with poetry in her soul. She loved her life with deep faith and embodied the true meaning of love – the heart of life. Her love of music was unparalleled. Her husband and all of their children are musicians and performers and she never missed a gig. She was a brilliant writer of beautiful poetry and had co-written countless songs. She loved her family with a passion that was rare and precious.
She found satisfaction and pleasure in taking care of the customers at the various establishments she worked for including the Muddy Rudder in Edgecomb, Red’s Eats, and Sarah’s Cafe in Wiscasset, Crissy’s and The Breakfast Place in Damariscotta, among others.
Compassionate when she needed to be, tough when she had to be, Carol was always supportive with love and wisdom.
Carol is predeceased by her parents, Michael and Ruth Murray DiPrima, of Lunenburg, Mass.; and her younger brother, Patrick DiPrima, of Lunenburg, Mass.
She is survived by her husband of 26 years, Michael A.C. Rankin, of Wiscasset; her daughter, Ruth B. Jones, of Alna; her sons, Caleb C. Jones and his partner, Meghan, of Edgecomb, Zacharias M.A. Rankin and his partner, Annie, of Whitefield, and John M.K. Rankin, of Wiscasset; her sisters, Katherine Sciabarassi, of Worcester, Mass., and Connie Ann McEuwin, of Pismo Beach, Calif.; her brothers, Michael A. DiPrima, of New Ipswich, N.J., Dr. John Thomas DiPrma and his wife, Leslie, of Gloucester, Mass., and Daniel DiPrima and his partner, Darcey, of Lunenburg, Mass.; one granddaughter, Aura Pearl Jones, of Alna; three stepbrothers; and 12 nieces and nephews.
A memorial mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Newcastle on Saturday, March 12 at 11 a.m. A celebration of Carol’s life will follow the next day, Sunday, March 13 at The 1812 Farm in Bristol from 2 to 5 p.m. Her memorial stone will be placed beside her parents in Lunenburg Cemetery in Lunenburg, Mass.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Special Olympics of Maine at somaine.org; or simply do a good deed to help someone.
Arrangements are made by the Daigle Funeral Home, 819 High St., Bath. Condolences may be made at daiglefuneralhome.com.
