Emery Junior Crane

Emery Crane was born in Tippecanoe Township, Iowa, served in the United States Air Force for 30 years, and retired to Hideaway Lake, Texas in 1978. He peacefully transitioned to his eternal home on Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 with his wife and daughter at his side.

Emery was predeceased in death by his grandson, Damen L. Day; his parents (Emery and Lela); his brothers, Vincent and Russell; and sister Gwendolyn.

Emery is survived by his wife of 72 years, Janet; 3 sons, Dave (Diane), Alan (Jo Ellen), and Steve (Patricia); and his daughter Kathy Day (Ron). He was beloved by his grandchildren, Michael (Corinne), Jacob, Timothy, Luke (Renee), Ava, Alison, and Erin and great-grandchildren (Raven, Owen, and Cooper).

Emery was raised in Iowa and took flying lessons at 13, had his license at 14, and bought a plane at 16. He majored in Physics and received his B.A. from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1952 and was commissioned in 1949 by the Aviation Cadet Program. His service to the country included deployments in Mobile, Charleston, Tokyo, Hawaii, the Pentagon, Maryland, and Delaware. He completed his service as a Full Bird Colonel at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois as Director of Safety of the Military Airlift Command comprised of 90,000 personnel and 1000 aircraft. From 1970-1971 he served as Deputy Commander of Operations at Phan Rang AB, Vietnam, supervising three tactical airlift squadrons and flew a C5-A to evacuate personnel in Saigon. He loved sharing his stories of flying and serving our country.

After moving to Hideaway, in ‘78, Emery became an engaged citizen of his community. He loved Hideaway Community Church and continued to watch online even when he was unable to attend. He enjoyed playing golf and tennis and visiting with his friends and colleagues in the Hideaway Lake Kiwanis Club. He served as President to the Tyler Club before forming and joining Hideaway Lake Kiwanis and has the Emery Crane Scholarship to support high school students to further their education. He and his wife, Janet, loved to travel in their RV, especially to Ruidoso, NM and to visit their family across the US.

A celebration of life for Emery will be held Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 10:00 am at Hide-A-Way Lake Community Church, 1115 Lake Cross Road, Hideaway, TX 75771. Following the celebration of life will be a graveside service at 12:30 pm at Tyler Memorial Park Cemetery and Mausoleum.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.tylermemorial.com for the Crane family.