Larry Earl Crane

Larry Earl Crane, 80, of Berthoud, CO, passed away peacefully at McKee Hospital in Loveland, under the care of Pathways Hospice, after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Larry was born in Des Moines, Iowa to Richard Crane and Alice (Green) Crane. He attended a one-room school south of Fort Des Moines in his elementary years, moved up to a four-room school (Elm Grove), graduated from Lincoln High School in Des Moines, and went on to earn a degree in Civil Engineering from Iowa State University and a Masters at the University of Michigan. He married his high school sweetheart, Karen (Brewer), and they would have celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary in November. Larry worked for the U.S. Public Health Service after graduation and was a founding member of the EPA in Washington, DC and Cincinnati, Ohio. From Cincinnati the family returned to the Des Moines area (Waukee) where Larry was named Director of the Iowa Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) by Governor Robert D. Ray. One of Larry's proudest accomplishments was the writing and implementation of the State of Iowa 5-cent Bottle Redemption bill. He also served nine years on the Waukee School Board. Larry eventually went into private consulting work, which brought them to Boulder, CO, where he was a Vice President with Montgomery Watson Harza (MWH). He and Karen retired together in March 2000. They enjoyed many years of retirement and traveled to all of the states except Hawaii (where Larry did go for business). They visited as many Civil War sites as possible. Larry loved to read, enjoyed sports, volunteered at the House of Neighborly Service in Berthoud and, most of all, he enjoyed his family. As a group, they took trips to Disneyland, Universal Studios and Disney World, where Larry and Karen celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Another highlight was a bus trip to Canada with grandson, Eric. Larry had a wonderful sense of humor, and people have described him as kind, gentle, and smart. Larry is survived by wife, Karen; daughter, Melanie Crane (Jim Delagardelle) and grandsons, Evan and Eric of Berthoud; daughter, Tracy Schott (Shane); and granddaughter, Amanda Walsh of Berthoud; brothers, Richard Crane (JoAnn) of Carlisle, IA, and Terry Crane (Loretta) of Cumming, IA; plus extended families. He was preceded in death by his parents. Larry has been cremated, and a celebration of his life will be at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Pathways Hospice or a charity of your choice.