Vance Ranlett Lemasters
December 21, 1948 ~ May 6, 2024
Born in:
Uniontown, Ohio
Resided in:
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Vance Ranlett Lemasters
Harrisonburg, VA
Vance Lemasters, 75, of Harrisonburg, passed away on Monday, May 6, 2024, after a year-long
battle with lung cancer.
Vance was born on December 21, 1948 in Uniontown, Ohio and was a son of the late Harry
Ranlett Lemasters and Anna Marie (Baker) Lemasters. He retired from being a minister and a
truck driver.
Vance was born in Uniontown, Ohio, and from the day his feet hit the ground, his race began. He
grew up running around the woods close to his house with his brother and friends, and was part
of the basketball, track, and football teams throughout junior high and high school, winning a
state football championship on Fawcett Field in Canton, OH, future site of the Pro Football Hall
of Fame. Almost 50 years later at age 66, he returned to Fawcett field to cross the finish line of
his second marathon, the Hall of Fame Marathon. Over the next several years, he ran numerous
other races, many with his oldest son and daughter who tried to keep up with him. Vance was
known around Harrisonburg and the JMU campus as the “JMU Runner”, where he could be seen
flashing by in his favorite Dukes gear and attending many football and basketball games over the
years.
Vance’s life work was his ministry, believing that the Lord is one, and we are all one with the Lord,
and he lived out this belief throughout his life, communing with his family, friends, and his
congregations. He believed that the base of every good sermon could be found in a Bob Dylan
song, and sprinkled in philosophies ranging from Aristotle to ZZ Top. He also believed that great
solace, inspiration and wisdom was to be found by communing with God’s nature in all its glory
in the woods, and spent many years hiking in the woods, and camping with his family where there were always life lessons to be learned such as “Don’t forget to pack the main tent pole, or you’ll spend hours tramping through the woods in the rain to find a suitable replacement” and
“Powdered sugar donuts & coke is a perfectly fine breakfast”. Although Vance had to hang up his running shoes after his cancer diagnosis, he made sure to tell each of his doctors two things – that he had lived a great life and had seven wonderful kids, and that he was ready to finish his race and go to heaven to commune with his Lord. One of his favorite quotes was from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “In the woods, we return to reason and faith. In the woods is perpetual youth.” May we have faith that Vance is now resting in that perpetual youth.
Mr. Lemasters is survived by his sons, Joshua Lemasters of Culpeper, VA, Joel Lemasters and wife
Consuela of Eagle Rock, VA, Zechariah Lemasters of Mechanicsburg, PA, Jesse Lemasters of
Richmond, VA, Nathan Lemasters of Roanoke, VA; daughters, Adrienne Kozel and husband Greg
of Herndon, VA and Alyson Lemasters and partner Justin Barnes of Harrisonburg, VA; and his
grandchildren, Remy Lemasters, Bennet Kozel, Emerson Kozel, Silas Lemasters, and Elsie
Lemasters.
In addition to his parents, Vance was preceded in death by his brother, Eugene (Spike) Lemasters.
At his request, his body will be cremated and all services will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests all memorial contributions may be made to
Girls on the Run https://www.girlsontherun.org/ or the American Lung Association https://www.lung.org
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Charities
The family greatly appreciates donations made to these charities in Vance Ranlett Lemasters 's name.
American Lung Association
American Lung Association National Direct Response PO Box 756
Osceola,
WI
54020-0756
Girls On The Run
Girls on the Run International (Headquarters) info@girlsontherun.org Phone: 800.901.9965 PO Box 30667 PMB 65493
Charlotte,
NC
28230
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Thinking about all y’all and please accept my deepest condolences for your loss. I have such great memories with you guys and still, to this day remember some stories Ally would tell me about Mr. Lemasters. Much love to you your family. ❤️