Funeral services for Benjamin C. Crane, 94, of Portales will be held at 10:00 AM, Fri., Mar. 3, 2017 at Trinity Assembly of God Church with Pastor Kelly Fulfer officiating, assisted by Pastor Casey Steen and Pastor Lance Garrison. Burial will follow in the Portales Cemetery with John King, Bart Garrison, Ben Garrison, Bradley Garrison, Tanner Archuleta and Jim Potter serving as pallbearers. Bill Bean, Lance Garrison, Garrett Archuleta, Colten Archuleta, Dustin Garrison, Hunter Garrison and Steven Garrison will serve as honorary pallbearers.
Benjamin Certain Crane, known to family and friends as “Ben,” was born Oct. 30, 1922 in Augusta, KS to the home of Mary C. (Certain) and Charles B. Crane, and died Feb. 27, 2017 in Clovis, NM. Mr. Crane’s early years were divided between Kansas and Albuquerque. On Jan. 18, 1944 in Los Angeles, CA he was married to Nita Langston. They made their home in Albuquerque for most of their married life, where Mr. Crane worked as a short order cook to earn his way through training to become an electrician. For many years, Mr. Crane plied his trade in construction. After he retired in the mid 1980’s, he and Mrs. Crane traveled extensively in their motor home they called “Homer. They used Yarnell, AZ as a home base until 2007, when they came to Portales to live near their daughter.
He and his wife were active members of Valley Gospel Tabernacle in Albuquerque. After moving to Portales, they belonged to Trinity Assembly of God. About 1970, they went to Hawaii for a short time to do support work on a mission trip. Ben enjoyed gardening and fishing, and since his wife collected and refinished antiques, he liked to barter for pieces for her collection.
He is survived by two daughters and a son-in-law, Sharon and Jim Potter of Portales and Judy Crane of Tijeras, NM; five grandchildren, Bart (Arlene) Garrison, Shareen (John) King, Benjamin (Mary) Garrison, Sherrie (Bill) Bean, and Bradley (Sommer) Garrison; and ten great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Frank and Wayne Crane, a sister, Peggy Huckabay, a grandson and his wife, Boden “Boe” and Amanda Garrison, a great-grandchild, and by his beloved wife, Nita who died Feb. 12, 2009 after more than 65 years of marriage.