Theodore Crane

Theodore Crane

Theodore Howard Crane of North Bend died on April 15, 2014 of complications from a stroke, at Evergreen Hospice Center in Kirkland. His loving family was around him.

Ted was born in Pasadena, California to Dorothy Elkins Crane and Theodore Herbert Crane, in 1938. He grew up in Los Angeles. He attended Iowa Wesleyan College and graduated from the University of Redlands, California, in 1960. After graduation Ted began his career as an elementary school teacher.

In 1962 Ted joined the Peace Corps and went to Liberia, West Africa, teaching children in a multi-age classroom. After time in the Peace Corps, Ted served in the U.S. Army for two years. While working for the YMCA during a summer, Ted visited Washington State. He loved its natural beauty, moved to Washington, and taught in Sedro Woolley and Bellevue. Later, he taught at Mountain View School in Snoqualmie.

Ted’s calling was to teach, and he was a gifted and creative teacher with a deep love for children. He empathized with and never gave up on struggling students. He helped children who were having difficulties with reading by using unique strategies to help them “unlock the codes.” It made him happy to help each student discover his or her individual strengths, and Ted believed that each one had special gifts. For many students, he was a favorite teacher because he made learning fun. And he had fun teaching them.

In 1970, Ted met Abbie McClintock at a family reunion in Iowa. It was love at first sight, and despite the distance between them (she resided in Ohio), they were married in less than a year. They lived first on a 14-acre farm near Snoqualmie. There they raised their three sons. Together Ted and Abbie started a publication for antique collectors, which became the Mapbook of Antique Shops, a guide for west coast collectors.

In 1983, Ted began volunteering in the Snoqualmie Valley Schools teaching children chess. He continued coaching chess students in the schools until last year.

Ted was an active member of St. Clare Episcopal Church in Snoqualmie.

Ted is survived by his wife, Abbie; sons, Adam, Ted, Jr., and Terry; daughters-in-law Addie and Ena; granddaughters Melody and Imogen; sister Mary Lee McLane of Sacramento; and his nieces and nephews. There will be a memorial service on June 14, at 2 p.m., at St. Clare Episcopal Church in Snoqualmie.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests remembrances to St. Clare Church, P.O. Box 369, Snoqualmie, Washington, or to CARE.