Sally (Sarah Rose) Beall Crane died on October 5, 2018, in Greensburg , Indiana. She was born to Edna Rose Beall and Frank Churchill Beall in Clarksburg, Indiana, on November 16, 1922. Sally grew up in a family tradition that valued education and life-long learning. She attended Clarksburg School and when she graduated from Purdue University she received the Chi Omega award for outstanding coed in scholarship, personality, and activities. Although she majored in Home Economics, it was her minor in Journalism that led to her position as managing editor of the Purdue Exponent and later, a brief career in advertising in Chicago.
Sally married Richard L. Crane of Rush County on August 2, 1947. Together they farmed in northern Decatur County until his death in 1993. Sally was able to develop her talent for gardening and delighted in raising and sharing raspberries, strawberries, and carnations. She could indulge her interests in wildflowers, birds and geology in the wooded area along Little Flatrock River.
Teaching high school English became her new career when Sally returned to work after starting her family. She taught at Sandusky, Clarksburg, and North Decatur High Schools for over twenty years. She loved to read and served on the board of the Greensburg-Decatur County Public Library during the building campaign for the current structure. She assisted in the establishment of the Decatur County Community Foundation Scholarship. Sally was an active member of the Milroy United Methodist Church for over 65 years, serving in many different capacities.
Sally was an excellent hostess and cook and organized many enormous Thanksgiving dinners which are fondly recalled by family members. She was locally famous for her brownies and lemon bars, and her children and grandchildren loved her “dirty picnics.”
Sally is survived by one son, William B. (Joyce) Crane, Decatur County; three daughters: Katherine (Charles) Matson, Bloomington, IN; Elizabeth Crane, Vincennes, IN; and Jeanne (Alan) Miller, Houston, TX; and her brother, Dr. Charles (Janet) Beall, Ames, Iowa. Sally is also survived by seven grandchildren and sixteen great grandchildren.
Memorial Services for Sally will be Tuesday, October 9, at 2 pm at the Milroy United Methodist Church, with calling at 1:00 pm prior to the service. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.gilliland-howe.com.
