Cora Crandall

After many years enduring Parkinson’s disease, Cora Delores Crandall of Eagle Point, OR., left this life on September 3, 2016, to begin her eternal life with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Cora was preceded in death by her beloved and devoted husband of 59 years, Peter Benjamin Crandall (November 7, 2009) Cora was born June 13, 1932, at the Hope Street Hospital in Los Angeles, CA. She was the middle daughter of Lawrence & Zola Baker. Her older sister, Frances Crayne, passed away in 1995. Cora is survived by her younger sister and brother-in-law, Harry & Dolly Kelly, of La Canada, CA. Her daughter and son-in-law, John & June Campbell, of Eagle Point, OR, grandchildren and great grand-children remain. Cora asked Jesus into heart at the age 5 and was baptized in the Christian Church in 1937. Her parents were deacons and Sunday school teacher. The carefully taught their daughters to love Jesus. Their teaching produced lasting fruit. Cora served the Lord the rest of her life. In 1942, when Cora was 10 years old, her family moved to Eagle Rock, CA. On the other side of the world, her future husband, Peter, a combat medic, was fighting for his life in the Battle of Okinawa. Cora graduated High School in 1950. She sang in the choir all four years, and the highlight of her school career was traveling to Occidental College with her choir to participate in an Easter Sunrise service, singing Handel’s majestic, “Hallelujah Chorus”. Cora met a handsome young man who had returned from the army to the states. Peter worked a short time as a private detective, and he loved to say, with a twinkle in his eye, that he met his future wife in an alley while working on a case. That was true. But it was a bowling alley. They were married September 17, 1950, in Las Vegas, NV. Together Peter & Cora bought property on Tulsa Street in Granada Hills, CA, and built a home on an acre of land surrounded by orange trees. Cora was a homemaker extraordinaire, taking whatever resources she had and making something special. She made her family’s’ life rich with love. In 1962 Peter & Cora moved to the Santa Rosa Valley, in Ventura County, CA., where they purchased several acres of lemon and avocado trees. They built a “ranch house” on their “lemon ranch”. Cora honed her skills as a wife & mother. “We drank a lot of homemade lemonade and ate a lot of guacamole in the 10 years we lived there.” Daughter June remembers. “It was a wonderful place to grow up. As a family we picked our own lemon crops – five times a year.” Peter had a long time dream to retire on Oregon and build a house resembling an old water powered mill. He was astonished to find an historic mill for sale in Southern Oregon, The Butte Creek Mill. And the rest as they say, is history. Peter & Cora worked side by side tirelessly to bring the building back to a functioning water-powered flour mill for the community. They fought for the mill’s water rights, succeeded in placing the mill on the National Historic Register and created the beautiful country store inside. Cora filled the store’s shelves with mixes made from healthy ingredients; pancake an waffle mix, bran muffin mix, buckwheat flapjack mix, and cornbread mix, to just name a few. The package labels could have included in addition to cooking directions, the words, “Developed by Cora and June with the help of many friends, employees, and customers.” June is continually grateful to both her father and mother for giving her a love of the Lord and for equipping her with skills for a successful and happy life. “I feel so blessed to have had such a Godly mother. She was not only beautiful on the outside, but also in her heart. She was an amazing role model for me, always directing me to the things of God. I came into the world in my mother’s arms, and she left this world in mine. I’ve had no greater privilege as her daughter. Cora helped innumerable people throughout her life. She showed God’s love by listening, praying, and in other very tangible ways. She never received any awards here on earth for what she did, but her treasures were laid up in heave. She has now entered the Hall of Faith to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ forever and ever. She will be sadly missed, but fondly remembered by all who knew her. Rest in peace, dear Cora, wife, mother, sister, grandma, aunt, and loyal friend….. Peter and Cora are both laid to rest at Eagle Point National Cemetery