M. Ann Rinker

M. (Matylda) Ann Rinker died July 22, 2024 at age 85. Ann was born in rural Missouri and raised in an Iowa Mississippi River town where she met her husband-to-be in junior high school. She had been married to Jim for 62 years.

Ann was a graduate of Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in French and Spanish Foreign Language. She taught 4th and 5th grade and Conversational French through the decade of the 1960’s. She then became a fulltime mother and Air Force wife.

Moving to Hanover in 1971, Ann was very involved and supportive in her children’s education and activities as well as expanding into her career as a community volunteer. She was choir mother for her children’s church choir, helped with Brownies and Cub Scout activities, was involved with and President of the PTA, and became an Eagle Scout Mom. With her education background, she became a School Board Member for the South Western School District where she was elected to ten consecutive terms serving the District for a total of 40 years. As representative of the South Western School District, Ann served on the York County School of Technology Joint Operating Committee for 32 years where she was Chairperson of that Committee from 1994-2014.

Ann was a member of the Hanover Hospital Auxiliary Board for nearly 50 years. She was a Hospitality Shop volunteer, involved in the Hi Fever Follies, poinsettia sales, jewelry sales and other auxiliary fundraising events. She helped organize and ran the Auxiliary sponsored annual Student Health Fair for third grade students in the area from its inception. For years, she presented a classroom hospital/health care educational program to young grade school students in the Hanover – Littlestown – Spring Grove area. She also took small groups of all ages on tours of Hanover Hospital to get people better acquainted with their local hospital and its services. Representing the Hanover Hospital Auxiliary, she was on the Board of Central Region of the Pennsylvania Association of Healthcare Auxiliaries for 21 years and served a term as its President as well as serving on the State PAHA Board.

Her volunteerism extended to involvement in the Brethren Home Community serving 24 years on the Board of Directors as an outside community representative as well as various committees. She served on the Board of Clearview Terrace. Ann was a Board Member for York County Prime of Life, York County Communities that Care, and a founding Board Member and President for many years of the Hanover Area Family and Youth Alliance (HAFYA) organization. Oh, and she delivered Meals On Wheels for a period of time and she was a PAL volunteer at Hanover Hospital from the inception of that program until it was suspended by the Covid outbreak.

For her involvement in the community and her volunteer commitments, Ann was recognized by the Hanover YWCA with their “Women Making a Difference” award in 2012.

Ann was a member of the Gamma Beta Delta Education Sorority, the Hanover County Club (where in 1974 she and her husband won the Husband and Wife Golf Championship), and Trinity United Church of Christ, Hanover where she was a member of the Church Worship Committee, a member of the church choir, assisted with Vacation Bible School, taught for a period at Trinity Nursery School, and served on the Consistory.

Ann spent her life devoted to her family and her community. She cared deeply for people and for helping people of all ages. She was especially dedicated to her role as an educator. This is why she was so involved with her time on the school board and her programs of educating especially young children but really people of all ages as you can tell by the variety of organizations with which she was associated.
She is survived by her husband; a daughter, Michelle and husband (Mike) of Phoenix, AZ; a son, Bradley and family (Dinyee and Mikayla) of Southern CA; and a brother, Robert and family in CO.

The family wants to publically thank Dr. Ann Kim for her expertise and skill at the onset of the horrendous medical journey Ann started over 18 months ago. Thank you to Dr. Scott Rankin for his expertise and efficiency in dealing with Ann’s first stroke 16 months ago. And multiple “Thank Yous” to the staff of Care South at Homewood at Plum Creek, Hospice of the VNA of Hanover and Spring Grove and to Dr. Joanne Chan for the care and compassionate caring they gave Ann these last declining months of her busy and full life.

Panebaker Funeral Home is assisting the family in this time of their grief. Services will be private for the family.

Those wishing to honor Ann with an in memoriam gift are requested to do so by donating to the South Western Education Foundation, 225 Bowman Road, Hanover, PA 17331 in her memory.