PRESQUE ISLE – Verna DeLong Crandall, 93, passed away Aug. 1, 2009, at a Houlton health care facility. She was born Nov. 6, 1915, in Presque Isle, the daughter of Perley and Lillian Flewelling Deane, and was raised on a farm in Easton. Education was of the utmost importance to Verna. With her horse, Jack, hauling her sleigh, she drove to a one-room schoolhouse five miles from her homestead, picking up other children along the way. She graduated valedictorian from high school at the age of 14, and graduated from Aroostook Normal School for teaching and later the University of Maine. The teaching profession was her pride and joy, and she taught for 33 years in Presque Isle, as well as two years in Trenton. She was an active member of the Parent Teacher Association, Presque Isle Teaching Association, Maine Teachers Association, National Education Association and Retired Aroostook Teachers Association. Throughout her many years of teaching, she served as a coordinating teacher through the University of Maine for many student teachers. She was a longtime member of Presque Isle Country Club, the Congregational Church, as well as a member in the restoration efforts of her childhood church in Easton. During her leisure time she enjoyed reading, gardening, birdwatching, crocheting, sewing country dolls, patchwork quilts, and knitting mittens, hats, scarves and elaborate afghans for family members and friends. She relished her time playing bridge and an occasional game of golf with her dear friends. Many chuckles were shared and cherished throughout 30 years of summer “getaways” to Quebec, New Brunswick, and various parts of Maine, with her granddaughter, Lee-Rae and daughter, Carol. She will be remembered for her interest in current events, sense of humor, instant laughter, inner pride, listening to a “good story,” showing her many acts of kindness, and displaying her love for her special cats, Fluffy and Cutie. She was predeceased by her husbands, Walter Osgood, Donald H. DeLong and Horace Crandall; sister, Carol D. Stewart; and niece, Deborah S. Stewart. She is survived by her son, Donald H. DeLong, II and wife, Claudette, of Newton, N.J.; granddaughters, Lara DeLong of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Audrey DeLong of Blue Point, N.Y.; daughter, Carol and husband, Philip K. Jordan, of Houlton; granddaughter, Lee-Rae and husband, Matthew O. Oliver; great-grandchildren, Walker, Anna and Wyatt of Hodgdon; brother-in-law, Harold L. Stewart; nephew, Harold L. Stewart II and wife, Melanie; great-nephews, Trey and Grant; great-niece, Meredith of Presque Isle; stepson, William Crandall and wife, Patricia, of Easton; and sister-in-law, Ruth D. Green of Lunenburg, Mass. At her request, a private ceremony for family members will be held in Presque Isle with the Rev. Dr. Robert Grove Markwood officiating. In lieu of flowers and gifts, her wish was for family and friends “to remember the many good times,” and “to live each day to the fullest.”
VERNA DELONG CRANDALL
