Rae Crane passed away February 3, 2016 at the Beehive Assisted Living Home of Park City. She was born July 8, 1918 to Edna and Ellis Straw in Montpelier, Idaho and lived there for 95 of her 97 years. She married J. Reed Crane on July 21, 1941. After his death in 1987, she married Ferris Nate in February of 1989 and they were together until his death in 2000.

She graduated from Montpelier High School, studied journalism at BYU for a year, and briefly attended LDS Business College in Salt Lake City. Her real passion was dance and she received training at the National Association of Dance and Affiliated Artists in Los Angeles and went on to teach dance in Montpelier and surrounding communities for more than 20 years. After she hung up her tap shoes, she purchased the Sally Shop on Washington Street, and eventually moved across the street and established Rae’s Elita Shop where she sold women’s wear for 20 years.

Rae always loved Montpelier and the Bear Lake valley and the people who lived there. She wanted to give of herself and make the valley a better place to live. In 1999 she was able to have the “Rae and Reed Crane Multi-Plex” building constructed at the fairgrounds. In 2006 she donated a building on Washington Street to the Bear Lake Memorial Hospital Foundation which became the site of Absolute Fitness.

Rae is survived by her daughter, Leslie (John), and her son, Douglas, of Park City, her sister, June Horsley, of Eagle, Idaho, and three grandchildren, Chris (Yumi) Sgamma of San Diego, California, Shelby Sgamma of South Lake Tahoe, California, and Randy Sgamma of Gwangju, South Korea.

A celebration of Rae’s life will be held at the Montpelier 3rd Ward, North Stake Center on February 20th, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. Prior to the services, will be a visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Dedication of the grave is at the Montpelier Cemetery, following the service. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity.