Mary Crandall

Mary Crandall, 92, died peacefully Monday, Aug. 4, 2014, at Beehive Homes, surrounded by her family.

Mary was born Aug. 26, 1921, in Richardton, North Dakota, to John and Veronica Pfaff. She was one of 10 children, including five brothers and four sisters.

At the age of 5, Mary lost her mother. She was raised by her father and siblings on the family farm in Mott, North Dakota.

In 1945, Mary left Mott and moved to Lemmon, South Dakota. In 1952, she decided to venture further west, ending up in Reno, Nevada. In late 1952, Mary met Cliff Crandall and they were later married. Their only child, JoAnn, was born in July of 1954. She was the absolute joy of their lives. Cliff was working construction so the family moved around and finally settled down in Missoula in 1955.

Mary worked at Bud Lake Truck Stop as a waitress from 1955 to 1959. She started working at 4B's in 1959 and worked there for 29 years. She also worked at St. Paul Lutheran infant day care from 2000 to 2002, where she was a foster grandparent.

Mary was strong in her Catholic faith and attended church throughout her life. She loved reading, traveling with her family, playing pinochle and other card games. Mary was especially proud of JoAnn and Richard with their successful business, Missoula's Office City. She enjoyed cooking for her three grandchildren. They were especially fond of her delicious pancakes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sugar kuchen and shoup noodlia.

She was a devoted mother, grandmother and friend. Her kind, gracious, selfless and loving ways will be missed.

She is survived by her daughter, JoAnn Hughes (Richard); three grandchildren, Michael, Shannon (Travis) and Brian (Karli); and numerous nieces and nephews. She had a special fondness for her three great-granddogs, Lilly, Daisy and Griffin.

She was preceded in death by her parents, five brothers and four sisters.

A vigil will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, at St. Francis Xavier Church. A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13, at St. Francis Church by Father Richard Perry with a reception following in Reidy Hall (basement of St. Francis).

In lieu of flowers, the family requests consideration of donations to Rocky Mountain Hospice, 2409 Dearborn Ave., Suite E, Missoula, MT 59801.

The family extends a special thank you to Wendi and her staff at Beehive Homes, and also Penny and Makinzie at Rocky Mountain Hospice for their love and support.

Cremation has taken place. Condolences and memories may be left for the family at missoulafuneralhomes.com.
Read Mary Crandall's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.