Deacon Charles Franklin Crandall
February 4, 2019 - June 4, 2005
Obituary
Charles F. Crandall
On April 18, 1928 Charles F. Crandall was born in the family home of a small farming town in Dunlap, Iowa. Music, playing drums, learning to fly, and becoming a HAM radio operator caught his attention early and would continue to be meaningful throughout his life. He spent his teen years baling hay and working as a lifeguard.
After graduating high school Chuck enlisted in the Army spending time in occupied Japan, playing in the Army Band, and serving as a guard on General MacArthur’s staff. In 1952 he married his sweetheart Louella R. Lockwood, and as hotel managers made multiple moves around the country, finally settling in Des Moines, WA where Chuck was hired by Boeing as an electrician.
After becoming a Finance Estimator and working on the Dyna-Soar project in Seattle, Chuck and Lou moved their two sons to New Orleans, LA, Huntsville, AL, and Cape Kennedy, FL where Chuck worked on the Saturn V project and other Aerospace programs supporting NASA. His compassionate personality showed early in the 1960’s where he began his ministries by becoming involved in VISTA and the civil rights movement. Returning to Seattle after 6 years Chuck supported many military projects during the remainder of his Boeing career. During this time Chuck earned his BA in Business, and spent three years studying Theology. In 1978 Chuck became an ordained Permanent Deacon for the Archdiocese of Seattle, thus fulfilling his desire for life-long ministry.
While he loved to attend plays and travel abroad, first and foremost were the times spent with his family and friends. Chuck’s sense of family extended to neighbors, friends, and the many families he served throughout his lifetime. He found it difficult to pass a garage sale; he loved to repair anything that he thought still had value.
Chuck passed away after a three year battle with cancer in Tacoma, WA on June 4, 2005. In his own words: “I have had a lot of enjoyable experiences in my lifetime. I have greased cars, soloed in an airplane in 1946, managed gas stations, sold insurance, become an active radio ‘ham’, a hotel manager and a finance estimator. I’ve built floors and walls for the poor people of Alabama and have worked in many volunteer programs for the uneducated and elderly. But as a task of love there is nothing that could replace my work as a Chaplain.”
As his wife I am so grateful to Joan Finn for capturing the ministry of a man I have loved over the past 50 plus years. Her condolence letter read as follows:
“Dear Lou, I am so sorry to hear about Chuck’s death. You two were so close, so obviously in love with each other, and so good to all of us at St. Theresa’s. Losing him must be a terrible tragedy for you and your family. St. Theresa’s will miss his wisdom and kindness, and his model of faith in action. Please know you have been on my mind and in my prayers.
Lou, I want you to know how very much Chuck touched my heart with the gentle, humble, and profoundly meaningful way he went about his ministry. He was such a support to me in my ministry at St. Theresa’s. At Baptisms, Chuck always impressed me with the genuine way he pronounced the prayers and anointed the babies with oil in the chapel. He entered that chapel with a glow and a tremendous sense of commitment of time and spiritual energy for each family member, each godparent, and, of course, with obviously special affection, for each child to be baptized. Chuck seemed to be able to weave that very personal touch with the real people before him and automatically sacramentalize the moment by his genuine concern for the families, deep appreciation for the sacrament, and profound sense of the sacred in the everyday lives of the family members before him.
It was that sense of the sacred in the everyday that touched me most about Chuck. I remarked his ability to give of himself at St. Theresa’s so humbly, without looking for applause or affirmation. Chuck would as easily remark I needed a light bulb at the head of the stairs outside my office door, and make sure one was installed, as offer to make a business card for me, as set up for a Saturday Baptism, be a gentle mentor in teaching me about where and how the oils and candles and white garments were placed, without ever making me feel as though I should have known as much anyway!, as preside with the Bishop at a Confirmation. Chuck had the aplomb, the sensitivity to every person he met, and the integrity to deal with a diversity of people and situations to always leave me with the sense that God’s wisdom and a profound faith were feeding him from within. That must have sustained him these past two years, through every beautifully homily, and through the Baptisms when I remember his carrying that magnificent Paschal Candle that was his handiwork, and lowering it for each child’s candle, with a reverence that bespoke his deep understanding of the Paschal mystery being celebrated there.
I remember Chuck and you, Lou, every Thursday, picking up the sandwiches and goodies from the freezers for Nativity House – a tip of the iceberg of all the social justice work you two did so well as a team.
And a team, you were. For me, a team you are. Death could not be more powerful than the bond in service and love you two so obviously, genuinely shared – not in a mushy way, but with all the bumps, scrapes, rough edges, laughs, howls, real tears, and devotion you two witnessed to all of us.
I thank you, Lou, for that time I enjoyed working in ministry with Chuck. No ministry is without sacrifice, or possible without relationship. You two, in that relationship were and are a witness to me of a sustained Christian faith that called you over and over again to serve, and not to be served.
I suspect Chuck is being served right this very minute, by God, by the communal energy of all the good people who have gone before him, and still, as ever, by the deep love you hold for him in your heart. I am so sorry for your pain right now, Lou. Yours truly, Joan.”
Chuck, the son of Lloyd and Cora Vie Tillett Crandall, is survived by his wife, Lou, sons Allen Martha and Steve Rebekah, grandchildren Joshua Hallie and Annie, his brother Lloyd Elspeth, and many nieces and nephews. Donations may be made to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98109, 206-667-4902.
DEAR LOU WE REALLY MISS CHUCK AS A DEACON AND FRIEND WE ARE PRAYING FOR YOU AT THIS TIME