When Stuart Randolph Rankin was born on 12 August 1919, in Sheridan, Yamhill, Oregon, United States, his father, Harold Gilbert Rankin, was 23 and his mother, Oda Opal Churchman, was 23. He married Veda Hickman on 28 February 1942, in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States. He died on 26 September 1997, in Hermiston, Umatilla, Oregon, United States, at the age of 78, and was buried in Hermiston Cemetery, Hermiston, Umatilla, Oregon, United States.