Charles "Charley" Herbert Crane

Charles Herbert “Charley” Crane, resident of the Hickory Withe Community, retired electrician and a person devoted to the Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star activities in West Tennessee and throughout the Mid-South for many years, peacefully departed this life Saturday morning, January 18, 2014 in the comfort of his home. He was 82 years of age and died following an illness of three and a half months.

Masonic and Eastern Star Services Honoring the Life of Mr. Crane were conducted at 2 P.M. Wednesday, January 22nd at the Peebles West Funeral Chapel at Oakland with Dr. Ken Story, pastor of the Somerville First Baptist Church, officiating. Members of the area Masonic Lodges and Eastern Star Chapters also participated in the service of honoring the life of Mr. Crane. Interment followed in the Seward Cemetery at Eads. Arrangements were provided by Peebles Fayette County Funeral Homes & Cremation Center — West Chapel at Oakland.

Mr. Crane was born December 22, 1931 in Memphis. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Edward Crane and Audrey McElravey Crane. He received his education in the Shelby County Public School System and was a graduate of Treadwell High School in Memphis. He continued his education in electronics that permitted him to be a Master Electrician. He was married April 27, 1951 to the former Rebecca Etta “Becky” Rowland, a native of Memphis, who survives. He was a member of the Somerville First Baptist Church and had been a member of the Hickory Withe Community for the past 37 years.

Mr. Crane was a Master Electrician associated with the IBEW and International Harvester in Memphis for many years before his retirement. He will be remembered as a patriotic person who devoted his life to serving others and known by many as a “true southern gentleman”. His many memberships in Masonic and Eastern Star organizations included being a 33° Mason at the Somerville Masonic Lodge #73, Scottish Rites, York Rites, Royal Order of Scotland, the Red Cross of Constantine and the Order of the Eastern Star Bartlett Chapter #216.

In addition to his wife of 62 years, Mr. Crane is survived by two daughters, Vicki Nix (Daryl) of Memphis, Carolyn Halford (Paul) of Hickory Withe; his son, Glenn Alan Crane (Charlotte) of Clarksville, TN; two sisters, Margie Junge of Detroit, MI, Norma Miller (Don) of Memphis; three brothers, Hugh Crane of Tucson, AZ, Sidney Crane (Katheryn) of Oakland, Joe Crane (Sharon) of Savannah, TN; three grandchildren, Paul Michael Halford, Jr., Charles William Halford, McKenzie Lynn Baker; and two great grandchildren, Lucy Aliye Odeh and Presley Baker.

In addition to his parents, Mr. Crane was preceded in death by his grandson, Jason Nix.

Those honored to serve as casketbearers were Paul Halford, Paul Michael Halford, Charles William Halford, Tom Kolesar, Phillip Baker and John Crane.

The family requests that memorials be directed to the Memphis Scottish Rite Language Disorder Foundation, 825 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN 38103 or to the Shrine Burn Center, 815 Market Street, Galveston, TX 77550.