Obituaries

John Paul Allen

John Paul Allen, 92, of Whitefish, Mont., died May 10, 2004. A long-time resident of Pinedale, he was born Feb. 11, 1912, in Pinedale, the son of John and Frona Allen. He attended school in Pinedale.

In his early days he enjoyed hunting and fishing, and later taking up photography and golf.

He married Lillian C. Clementsen at the age of 25, and by that time he was in livestock hauling. He eventually went into real estate and insurance, owning Allen Agency of Pinedale.

Paul was on the state board of directors for real estate business for about 10 years. Paul served as a member for the Lions Club and secretary for the town clerk for many years. He was a member of Pinedale Masonic Lodge No. 31.

He later married Charlene Whitman in Saint George, Utah. They traveled from Saint George in the winter to Pinedale in the summer. They moved to Whitefish last year.

He was preceded in death by father, John Lewis Allen; mother, Frona Allen; wife, Lillian C. Allen; daughters Jean McGreggor of Big Piney and Beverly Ann Prather of Thayne.

He is survived by wife, Charlene Whitman, two grandsons, three granddaughters, six great-grandchildren, and five great- great- grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service at Johnson Mortuary, 525 Main Street, Kalispell, Mont., on May 12 at 7 p.m.

A visitation will be held at Hudson's Funeral Home in Pinedale on Saturday, May 15, from 4 to 8 p.m. Graveside services will be held Monday, May 17, at 11 a.m. the Pinedale Cemetery.

Earle F. Crandall

Earle F. Crandall, formerly of Pinedale, passed away on April 30, 2004, in Solana Beach, Calif.

He was born in Jackson on Jan. 6, 1916, the youngest of 10 children of Eliza Baxter and Franklin Edgar Crandall. Following his mother's death when he was 14, he spent summers with Joe and Chloe May and Lamare and Garrett Hardeman in Jackson and winters with his uncle, Les Crandall, in Driggs, Idaho, and his sister, Velda Alexander, in Buhl, Idaho.

He graduated from Teton High School in Driggs and attended Ricks College and the University of Wyoming. Following marriage to Vera Chambers, he went to work for Mountain Bell Telephone Company in Jackson and was later transferred to Kemmerer, Gillette, Lander and Riverton.

In 1950, Earle and Vera bought the independently owned Pinedale Telephone and Telegraph Company and moved to Pinedale. They renamed the business the Wyoming Telephone Company. A few years later they purchased the Big Piney exchange, adding it to their existing holdings. For several years, Vera took the night shift on the switchboard. She lost her job, however, when they converted the system to dial in February 1955. This culminated four years of work.

Earle invited John Mackey to make the first long distance call using dial from the new system.

Earle continued to improve and modernize the telephone system. In 1962 he installed the first microwave system for use in providing better toll service from the Pinedale and Big Piney areas. His experience with this new technology allowed him to leave the telephone company in the able hands of manager Joe Lunbeck, and accept a position with TAI (Television Associates of Indiana) as project manager for a new telecommunications project in the Middle East.

Earle was stationed in Teheran, Iran, in 1963-64. He and Vera returned to the United States for three years then took another position with TAI involving communications projects in Rio De Janeiro, Bolivia, and Concepcion, Chile.

Earle was joined by his son, Craig, in running Wyoming Telephone Company in 1970 and they continued to run the company and expand services throughout Sublette County until they sold the company in 1984 to GVNW Consulting, Inc. of Colorado Springs, Colo.

On retiring, Earle and Vera began to seriously indulge their interest in golf, developed while living in Chile. In 1983 they bought a condominium in Whispering Palms, a golfing development in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., and lived between Pinedale and Rancho Santa Fe, staying in each for several months a year.

In 1989, they sold their house in Pinedale and retired full-time to California. They continued to travel extensively, visiting China, Australia, New Zealand, the Scandinavian countries, Canada, the Caribbean, Scotland and England.

Earle also kept busy as a volunteer for six years with the Meals on Wheels program in San Diego.

After Vera passed away in May, 1999, Earle sold his house and moved into a senior retirement community in Solana Beach. He enjoyed the privacy of his apartment and the companionship of the other residents of the community. He continued to play golf and enjoyed the outings with the family of daughter, Judy. He was known for his friendliness, kindness and ready sense of humor.

Earle was preceded in death by his parents, and brothers and sisters Alice (infant), Mabel (child), Chloe May, Lamare Hardeman, Franklin (infant), Francis (Dick), Ray and Marion Woodward.

He is survived by his sister, Velda Alexander; his two children, Craig Crandall and Judith Crandall-Sloane and their spouses; two granddaughters, Krissell and Margo Crandall and four great-grandchildren.

Graveside services will be held at the Pinedale Cemetery June 12, at 11 a.m., followed by a community picnic in the American Legion Park on Pine Street. If the weather is inclement, the picnic will be held at the new hockey rink building at 1219 W. Washington.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Sublette County Hi-Country Senior Citizens Center, P.O. Box 804, Pinedale, Wyo., 82941.

David Vincent Allen

David Allen, 68, passed away Monday evening May 2, 2004, at his home in Pinedale.

David was born on April 1, 1936, in Norfolk, Neb. He was the son of George and Colette Marie Wilson. When David was five years old, his family moved to the West Coast. This is where he began his elementary education. His family then moved to the Denver, Colo., area where he stayed through his high school years. He married his wife Eileen in Denver in 1955.

David was a U.S. Marine in the 1950s. He worked as a cook at the Stockman's Café for about 15 years. He enjoyed movies and trains, both models and the real ones.

David is survived by his two sons: Michael (Cyndi) Wilson of Boulder, and David (Thuan) Wilson of Phoenix, Ariz.; and two grandsons, Craig Wilson and Michael Carter.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Eileen, his parents and three brothers.

As per his wishes, cremation has taken place under the direction of Hudson's Funeral Home.

Glenn E. Bateman

At his request, no services are planned for Pinedale resident Glenn E. Bateman, who passed away May 7, 2004, at his home with his family.

Born July 25, 1931, in Mount Vernon, Ill., he was the son of Luther and Opall Bateman.

He served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War.

Following his honorable discharge, he returned to Mount Vernon and went to work in the oilfields.

In 1954, he married Mary Evelyn Phelps and to this union two sons, Robert and Rodney, were born.

In 1958 he moved his family west. He then worked for various drilling companies. He worked for R. L. Manning Drilling Company for over 25 years.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Evelyn; two sons, Robert Glenn Bateman and Rodney Eugene Bateman, both of Utah; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; one brother, Lymon Bateman of Brook Port Ill.; and two sisters, Esther de Jeasus of Mount Vernon and Venita Runkle of Cali.

He was preceded in death by his parents, grandson Brent Bateman, one brother and three sisters.

Cremation has taken place.

Clara Yvonne Legg

Clara Yvonne Legg passed away at her home in Marbleton on May 7, 2004, with her family at her side. She was 73 years old. She was born on May 22, 1930, in Daniel.

As per her wishes, cremation has taken place under the direction of Hudson's Funeral Home.