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Franklin Chalmers Raney was born 23 October 1921 in Spokane, Washington. Graduating from Lewis and Clark High School in 1939, he went on to attend the University of Idaho between 1941 and 1943. While at the university Raney lived in the Idaho Club, a living cooperative built in 1935. He was also a member of the Christian Science Social Club known as the Sentinel Club.

He left the university when World War II began and the army sent him to University of Chicago to finish his degree in Meteorology. Later, he earned a Master of Science degree from Washington State College (now Washington State University) and finally a PhD from University of California Berkeley.

In 1966, Raney became an associate professor of Geography at Western Washington University, retiring 20 years later in 1986. He died 19 April 2009 in Bellingham, Washington.