CORNISH — The 72-year-old Cornish man who died earlier this week after falling into a brook near his house was remembered Friday as someone who loved his family, dogs and working their property.

Michael W. Ranney, a machinist who had repaired helicopters in Vietnam, served in the Marines and retained those high standards throughout his life, his wife said.

“He was a great father,” said Jan Ranney. “He was certainly a Marine to the end and especially a loving husband.”

The Ranneys had lived for decades along Chase Hill Road and had some projects going on 15 acres of land across Mill Brook, Jan Ranney said.

Her husband was carrying a chain saw across a footbridge on their property when he slipped, fell 8 feet into the brook, hit his head and drowned on Wednesday.

A family member found his body in the brook several hours later, shortly after midnight, according to New Hampshire State Police.

Cornish Police Chief Doug Hackett said Ranney was a “salt-of-the-earth guy” who was loved by his family and respected as an honest, hard-working member of the community.

“This was a man who was working his land as he had done for 49 years,” Hackett said.

Jan Ranney, a real estate agent in Sullivan County who previously taught physical education in Cornish and Lebanon, said she and her husband had two sons, two grandsons and four “granddogs” in the family.

Her husband carried the chain saw across the bridge three or four times a day for various projects, and she said he died in a “freak, tragic accident.”

“He died doing the things he wanted to do,” she said.

John P. Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com.

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