Mr. Cranford was born February 13, 1920 in Winston-Salem, N.C., the eldest of eight children of Hubert Himelius Cranford and Margaret Litaker Cranford. Hugh was a member of Sharon Presbyterian Church.
He was a long-time resident of Charlotte, having retired there in 1986 after serving for 20 years as executive secretary of Optimist International in St. Louis, Mo. Before that, he was a division sales manager for N.C. State Motor Club in Charlotte. During World War II, he served stateside in the Army Air Corps.
Mr. Cranford was long active as a volunteer in Optimist affairs, serving as a member of the Charlotte Optimist Club and helping to found several Optimist Clubs in North Carolina. Following his retirement from Optimist International, Cranford remained active in local and international activities of the organization. In the early 2000s, he helped direct the Optimist International Junior Golf Tournament in Palm Beach, Fla. He frequently said: “All I want is to be remembered as someone who helped kids.”
Helen Benfield Cranford, his wife of 62 years, died in September 2002. He is survived by his son, John and his wife, Sharon, of Montgomery Village, Md. He is also survived by two grandsons, Sean of Arlington, Va., and his wife, Pamela; and Colin of Manassas, Va., and his fiancée, Nicole Osborne.
He is also survived by one brother, George, and his wife, Estelle of Greensboro, N.C.; two sisters, Nancy Purcell of Greensboro and Christine Huffman of Greenville, S.C., and a sister-in-law, Frankie Cranford of Greensboro. Three brothers, Eugene, Leonard and William, and one sister, Elaine, are deceased.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, September 5, 2014 at Sharon Presbyterian Church, 5201 Sharon Road, Charlotte. The Reverend Ron Nelson will preside. A reception will follow the service in the church hall. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to one of the following charities: the Sharon Presbyterian Church Building Fund, 5201 Sharon Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28210, or the Optimist International Foundation, 4494 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63108.
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