Kristopher Kennon Crane was born into this world on July 6, 1983, the son of Kennon and Cheri Crane of Bennington. He was the oldest grandchild born in Cheri’s family, and a beloved grandchild on Kennon’s side of the family tree. Kris was a joy to be around and was cheerful and curious at an early age. This led to several adventures that were character building, like the time he dropped a rock into a dual tractor tire, then plunged in after it, wedging himself firmly inside the metal center. It was fun for his parents to rescue him from this predicament.
Kris became a loving big brother to two siblings, Derek Glenn, and Devin John. These three boys shared a special bond and they have been close friends and brothers through the years. They were talented musicians and formed a garage band, performing in varying venues. Their mother figured it was important for them to learn how to cook and soon each boy had mastered the art of creating delicious cuisine. Kris in particular became a talented cook, and his first jobs were in varied eateries. He also worked at Broulim’s part-time as a high school student and enjoyed learning to work with the public.
Kris graduated from Bear Lake High School in 2001. He had participated in band, Honor’s English, and was a seminary graduate. From high school, he went on to attend BYU-Idaho and considered going into architecture for a time.
He served an honorable mission in the Washington-Seattle area and loved it. Upon his return, he attended Bridgerland Tech in Logan, Utah, taking culinary classes that he enjoyed. He eventually attended ISU where he went into Dietary Science and graduated in 2017 as a registered dietitian.
He was hired by St. Luke’s Hospital in Twin Falls, Idaho and worked primarily in the NICU department, where he did his best to help tiny babies flourish.
In 2020 he moved to Murray, Utah and went to work as a kitchen supervisor for the Utah State Prison. This proved to be a challenging job that used his entire skill set as he helped plan menu items for the residents of this facility, feeding 3000+ people 3 meals a day.
Kris enjoyed many hobbies, including soap making, quilting, cooking, and varied art projects. He was extremely talented and was always striving to improve his abilities. He also loved spending time with his family and spoiling his nieces and nephews. He continued to spend fun time with his brothers, and in recent years they enjoyed special road trips together and would often link up online to play old-school video games as a way to keep in touch and de-stress.
Kris was diagnosed with Metastatic Gastric Cancer in January of 2022. He was told that he was classified as stage 4 and that the outlook was grim. His doctors thought he might last a couple of months, but a determined gleam in his eye dictated otherwise. He became a cancer warrior, and beating the odds, survived horrific treatments that spared his life for nearly a year and a half. He faced a daunting challenge with courage and a sense of humor. He remained cheerful and positive throughout this illness, and he was able to journey with his family to San Diego, California in July of 2022 to spend a wonderful week near the ocean that he loved.
In 2023, he had to undergo intensive chemo and radiation treatments in an attempt to kick cancer to the curb once and for all. Sadly, his body didn’t react well to these treatments, and he became very ill. He was hospitalized for the last time on April 13th at Bear Lake Memorial and succumbed to cancer on April 19th, 2023. He passed away surrounded by family members. He will be sorely missed by family and friends alike. He was always one to reach out to others and to help wherever he could and was usually the first one to arrive whenever other family members were struggling.
Kris is survived by his parents, Kennon & Cheri Crane, his brother Derek Crane, his wife, Kristen, and their four children as well as Devin Crane, his wife, Emily, and their two boys, a grandmother, Verdene Ringel, and varied aunts, uncles & cousins. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandmother, Genevieve Jackson, his aunt Arvilla Nelson, and his uncle Doug Crane.
A viewing for Kris will be held on Sunday, April 23rd at the Schwab/Matthews Mortuary from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Another viewing will be held the next day, on Monday, April 24th at the Bennington Church from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. The funeral will then be held in the Bennington Ward chapel at 11:00 a.m.