Vera Louise Crane

Vera Louise (Abbey) Crane 94, passed away peacefully with family on the morning of March 13, 2023, after a courageous lifetime fight with a heart birth defect and complications from a recent fall. She was born at home on Linwood Street in Roseville, MI on April 21, 1928, to parents Harley R. Abbey and Maude Belle (Clark) Abbey. She was the oldest of 5 children: Warren (Joyce) Abbey, Harold (Sally) Abbey, Bob (Mina) Abbey, and Charles (Luise) Abbey. In her early years, playing sports proved too difficult as she would be out of breath easily, and this led to her heart diagnosis which gave her difficulties throughout her entire life. Instead of sports, she learned piano. In 1945 she graduated from Roseville High School, and shortly thereafter would meet Roy Crane at a youth conference at Calvary Baptist Church of Roseville who became the love of her life. They eventually married on August 2, 1947, in Roseville, MI. After getting married, Vera and Roy moved to Olivet College then to Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC where her husband eventually earned a bachelor’s degree, and they started a family. After graduation from Bob Jones University, the family moved and settled back to their beginnings in Roseville, MI, where they both resided together until they took their final breaths. Vera and Roy were married a few months short of 60 years. During those years, the family grew to 7 children: Nancy (Dave) McGuire, Darlene (Richard) Sylvia, Marcia (Joseph) Schmuck, Nathan (Carol) Crane, Cheryl (Tom) Davis, Sheila (Andre) Silvanovich, and Richard (Ulanda) Crane. Roy and Vera both loved Jesus and made sure that he was a big part of their family’s life. This reliance on Christ was tested in 1963, when Vera had a relatively risky and new procedure for her heart defect. This test of faith and love proved a surgical success in the early years of her family. She would refer to it as her second birth. Roy and Vera over the years were members of Redeemer Baptist Church, Calvary Baptist Church of Roseville, and finally Faith Baptist Church until their respective deaths. Vera was preceded in death by brothers Warren (1989), Harold (2014), Charles (2015), husband Roy (2007), and daughter Cheryl (2022). She is survived by her children Nancy, Darlene, Marcia, Nathan, Sheila, and Richard. The magnitude of the legacy of her life, surely, is multiplied by the staggering number of grandchildren she was able to enjoy. Vera has 38 grandchildren, 64 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild totaling 103 children from her various generations. It is said by some that the race of life has a beginning and an end, though the legacy of life perhaps may be better described as a relay race where we pass the baton, a piece of ourselves, to the next generation. Vera Crane has faithfully done this as 2 Timothy 4:7 states, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” The family will greet guests from 2:00pm until 8:00pm on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at Kaul Funeral Home, 35201 Garfield Rd, Clinton Township, Michigan. Funeral services will be held at 11:00am on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at the above location. Visitation from 10:00am until time of service on Wednesday. Interment following at Cadillac Memorial Gardens East Cemetery, Clinton Twp. Fond memories and condolences may be offered to the family via the online guestbook at www.kaul-funeral.com