Carry "Bo" Ranson

Carry S. “Bo” Ranson Carry Simms “Bo” Ranson, 58, departed the Almost Heaven of Ripley, West Virginia for Real Heaven on December 21, 2017, a peaceful end to a life well- lived. Bo was born January 18, 1959, the youngest son of the late Kayo & Kate Ranson,. He is survived by his four older brothers, Larry (Valenda), Garry, Terry (Cindy), & Jerry (Betsy), who Bo remembered fondly as always having a car available for Bo to borrow & $20 from their wallets he could use to fill up the tank. Growing up with that kind of generosity had its influence throughout Bo’s life: he too would give the keys from his pocket to anyone in need, and the money it would take to get your where you were going. His brothers & sisters-in-laws also provided him with fourteen wonderful nieces and nephews & their children, all of whom Bo thought the world of. It was probably that generous and open spirit that enabled him to acquire a network of lifelong friends. From a young age, Bo enjoyed the company of anyone who liked having a good time, could tell a good story, and knew when to keep a secret, and he was the kind of person who once he made your acquaintance, he was your friend for life. Bo’s people would like to thank his best pal Burgy, the Thursday Night Poker Boys, his Fishing Friends, the Anderson family, Pat, Kay, Terry & the rest of the Ripley High Class of 1977, anyone who attended Marshall University/ lived in Huntington from 1977- 1980, and basically every interesting person he met during his journey, for providing him with not only a plethora of great memories, but for all you did to keep his spirits up during these last few years. While at Marshall, Bo had two encounters that changed his life for the infinite better: he met Terri Jo Burgess, his beautiful brown- eyed girl from Logan, who was his wife of 37 years, his best friend, his confidant, and the person who made sure his health insurance never lapsed. Together, the two of them built not just a wonderful marriage, but two lovely homes on Bo’s family land, and spent many a happy evening on their porch, talking about nothing and watching the dogs chase each other. Bo often remarked that there was no one better he could have had by his side, that Terri was absolutely always there, in sickness and health, in richer and poorer, and whenever he ran out of ice cream. Terri is also the spectacular mother to Bo’s two exceptional children (his word, not ours), Ceason Ranson & Colton (Melanie) Ranson. Ceason & Colton learned many things from their father, including a love for Classic Rock, how to treat people well, not to hold a grudge, and that it was okay to take a day off now & then. Bo also told them so much West Virginia trivia, they were both Golden Horseshoe winners (one of his claims to fame). But mostly, they learned that you should never wait to do the things you dream of, and Bo was always there to support them in whatever dreams they had. Everyone should have that kind of father, but Ceason & Colton were lucky that they actually did. He also accepted a landman job from Ted Lee at the end of his tenure at Marshall, which was his entrance into the Oil & Gas business. Bo was a professional landman for over thirty years, the better part of which was spent with the best abstractor he ever knew, Kathy Ortt, as partners in their business, Land and Resource Management. Between the two of them, they trained and employed hundreds of West Virginians in the fine art of being a landman and abstracting. Bo also taught them the importance of honesty, of keeping your word, and that real landmen never work past noon on a Friday. The family would like to thank Kathy, Billie, Sandy, and the rest of his girls for spoiling him all these years, and helping him build the business into one of the best around. During Bo’s off- time, he enjoyed a number of hobbies, including fly- fishing, regular fishing (there is a difference, he said), and wood- working, and the family would like to thank his “Internet Friends” & the guys who created YouTube for providing him with encouragement to keep working on his projects, and when it got too hard to do that, hours and hours (& millions of bytes from our family data plan) of video content that helped preoccupy him when the pain was at its worst. Bo was a big believer that anyone could be a maker, creator, or artist, and we appreciate y’all giving him something to look forward to during the worst days & nights of his illness. Bo, at heart, was a big dreamer. He had big ideas and he made them happen, even when other people said they would never work. He saw a dilapidated barn and said “We could have weddings here,” and he was able to share his favorite place in the world, Ranson Hollows, with other people who loved the wild and wonderful of West Virginia as much as he did. We want to thank all our guests, and especially Andrei and his Russian pals, , for letting us share Bo’s little piece of heaven with you, and we hope that you’ll always take away a little bit of the joy & peace he felt living here with you every time you visit. And the family would like to also thank everyone who did everything they could to give us as much good time with Bo as possible in the years of his illness: Dr. Cohen & the entire of the staff at the CAMC Cancer Center, Dr. Nease & the CAMC cardiology teams; Dr. Kelly & his staff; the sweet ladies who work at Outtakes for making his caramel drinks just right, every valet parker who worked the days he came by (you are doing the Lord’s work), the ladies at Jackson General Hospital (thanks for letting him use the infusion room as his personal visitor center), and the delivery guys from Jimmy Johns along with the sushi makers at Krogers & Red Fire Asian BBQ, who helped make treatment days a little tastier. We appreciate all y’alls patience with a guy who was incapable of showing up on time for his appointments, for laughing at his “Dad jokes,” and for taking the best care of him we could have asked for. Multiple Myeloma was always going to get him in the end, but thanks to you & his network of friends and family for support, it never fully got him down. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that embarrassingly large donations be made to the Ripley Rotary Club for their community programs. Bo was an especially big supporter of the Adopt- A- Family program, believing that every child deserved to have at least one “magic Christmas.”. You can send your donations to: Ripley Rotary c/o JCCF, 110 S. Church St., Ripley WV 25271. Make your donations to “JCCF” & put “Ripley Rotary” in the memo line. That way, your donation will also be filed under one of Bo’s favorite phrases, “tax deductible.” Bo’s services will be handled by the fantastic people at Waybright’s Funeral Home in Ripley. The viewing will be Tuesday, Dec. 26th, 3pm- 8pm, at Waybrights. A memorial service will be held this spring in Ranson Hollows, where his ashes will be scattered and, after an appropriate silence following a sing- along of The Hollies “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” we will eat, drink, share good times, pet Bo’s beloved dogs, and then retire to our respective homes, hopefully happy in the knowledge that we are all linked by the same good thing: that we were all lucky to have known Bo Ranson in this life, and that he’ll be waiting for us with a great story & a big smile in the next.