Kenneth Crandall III

My precious husband, Kenneth E. Crandall III, of over 52 years, passed on to eternal life with Jesus at St. Alphonsus Hospital on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016, of natural causes. He lived long past his massive heart attack in 1999, and many believed he was invincible as he continually survived many heart and lung problems through the next 17 years.

A viewing and Rosary was held Dec. 8, 2016, at Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel; his funeral was Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church; and burial was Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, with full military honors at the VA Cemetery in Boise.

Ken was born to Kenneth E. Crandall II and Alice L. Crandall on Sept. 6, 1943, in Enid, Okla. His father was in the Air Force and stationed at Tachikawa AFB, Japan, where Ken would meet his future wife, Margo, in 1960. They both attended Yamato High School; Margo was a freshman and Ken was a senior.

After dating for nearly two years, Margo's father was transferred to McGuire AFB, New Jersey, and the couple stayed in contact until Margo's graduation from high school. Meanwhile, Ken joined the Air Force in 1963 and was stationed at Travis AFB, Calif. Ken and Margo married in New Jersey on June 29, 1964.

A son, Kenneth E. Crandall IV, was born to them on March 31, 1965, at Travis AFB, and their youngest son, David W. Crandall, was born on May 28, 1968 at Fort Richardson, Alaska, just before his dad went to Vietnam for a year.

Ken retired from the Air Force as a Master Sergeant in 1983 while stationed at Mountain Home AFB and went to work for Inland Vending and later transferred to Canteen Corporation until his health required him to retire in 2002.

Known by all as a loving servant, hard worker and faithful husband, father and grandfather, Ken dedicated his life to his family and his church. After retiring from his two professions, he spent many years serving at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church as the volunteer maintenance supervisor. This was his favorite profession of all.

He had to quit this job due to health issues when the new parish hall was built, but he stayed involved as much as possible, often working at the community pantry for St. Vincent de Paul, in Mountain Home. He loved serving the poor in the community.

Ken is survived by his wife, Margo; sons Ken (Brenda) of Eden, Idaho, and David (Renee) of Coos Bay, Ore.; grandsons Kenneth, Jayce and Christopher of Nampa, Idaho; and Tyrell of Joplin, Mo.; sister Kathy (Bob) Keiser of Enid, Okla.; niece Darla (Andy) Campbell and their four children of Enid, Okla.; and his best friends Ed (Carleen) DeGennaro of Shingle Springs, Calif., and Ed (Niki) O'Reilly of Mountain Home.

Special thanks to Bejay Hendrickson and staff of Costco in Boise! Bejay performed CPR on Ken when he went into cardiac arrest on Nov. 30. After the rescue team took over, it took about 25 minutes to revive Ken, giving him four days for his family to gather and have quality time before his passing. Some of the hospital staff called it a "Christmas miracle" that he had no brain damage after having no pulse for so long.

If anyone wishes to donate in Ken's memory, please make the donation to St. Vincent de Paul Society of Mountain Home, c/o OLGC Catholic Church, P.O. Box 310, Mountain Home, ID 83647.