Mel Crane

Melvin Bryce Crane

November 21, 1928 – January 3, 2025

A life well-lived. That aptly describes Mel Crane, a man who met the challenges and joys of life head-on and did what he needed to do to answer God’s calling as a pastor, husband, father, friend, carpenter, auto-mechanic, gardener, researcher, and life-long learner.

Melvin Bryce Crane was born on November 21, 1928 to Charles Percival Crane and Mabel V. (Davidson) Crane in Billings, MT where his father taught courses including animal husbandry at Billings High School. Mel’s love of nature was a gift to him from his parents. For the summer and winter of 1930, Mel, his baby sister Pat and parents lived in a cabin (elev. 9500 ft) up the mountain from Cooke City, MT where his father was a Forest Service Ranger. The family loved living in the primitive mountain conditions, where water came from a nearby spring and Mel loved playing outdoors, even in the snow.

Before the Spring Thaw, the family traveled by bob sled and train to Oregon to visit family and then settled in Boise, ID where brother Norman Robert (Bob) was born and Mel started school. The family camped often in the mountains where Mel’s appreciation of and respect for the wonder of God’s great outdoors grew. Music was also an important part of family life and Mel developed a fine tenor singing voice participating in school choirs.

The family moved several times in the ensuing years, and Mel started high school in LaGrande OR, graduated from Franklin High School in Boise in 1946, and enrolled in Boise State University. Throughout this time, he spent summers working for the Oregon State Forestry Service as a fire lookout. The solitude and proximity to nature suited Mel’s introspective personality and it was during this time that he felt God’s call to go into ministry.

In pursuit of this goal, Mel transferred to Linfield College in McMinnville, OR. During his second year at Linfield, he met Doris Kaser and walked her home from choir practice one evening. They discovered that they had both been born in Billings and that both of their fathers had taught at Billings High School, so they had likely ‘met’ much earlier in their lives.

Mel graduated from Linfield in the Spring of 1950 with a major in Religion and a Botany minor and matriculated into the Berkeley Baptist Divinity School in Berkeley, CA. He remained in close contact with Doris, and they were married at First Baptist Church in Billings on July 19, 1952, honeymooning in their beloved Yellowstone Park. Mel needed one more year to complete seminary, so his bride Doris taught high school English in Berkeley (and earned her PHT - Putting Hubby Through school, as Mel’s mother put it).

Melvin was ordained as an American Baptist Minister in 1953, and served churches in Chester, CA, Winner and Dixon, SD, Council Bluffs, IA, Big Bend, WI, Great Bend and Wichita, KS spanning the years 1953-1992. During his years in the ministry, Mel continued to grow in his faith and understanding of what it meant to be a minister for God through experiences, attending pastors’ conferences, and personal study.

His various pastorates in established and mission churches increased his attention to outreach and interaction with people and churches of other denominations and backgrounds, and he led his churches to participate in ecumenical groups and inter-church events. He served on committees and state boards of the American Baptist Association including chairing the Wisconsin State Missions Commission.

Mel and Doris took part in two archeologic digs in Israel, learning first-hand and from accompanying lectures what life was like for people during Christ’s lifetime. Mel created slide shows to share his experiences with his churches and colleagues. Always endeavoring to deepen his professional skills and faith, Mel enrolled in Phillips University Graduate Seminary (Enid, OK) graduating with a Doctor of Ministry degree in 1984. At least one of his children enjoyed calling him The Reverend Doctor Melvin B. Crane.

Family was always very important to Melvin. For entertainment, he would take his young family (kids in PJs) on evening drives in the country to look at the stars, or gather around the table for popcorn and a rousing game of Clue, or gather around Doris at the piano to sing show tunes or art songs. He also continued his family’s tradition of taking his wife and children camping and hiking, sharing his love of God’s creation.

He built a wooden canoe that would hold the whole family, which he later converted into a sailing vessel complete with rudder and keel. Many vacations were spent visiting family in MT and other places out west.

Following his retirement from active ministry, Mel still felt called to serve his community and worked as a Wichita Police Chaplain and part-time for the Culbertson-Smith Mortuary in Wichita. Mel also served on the Board of Directors at the Homestead Health Center at Prairie Homestead, a continuing care community in Wichita affiliated with the American Baptist Homes of the Midwest.

He expressed his love of nature through gardening both vegetables and flowers and became an active member of the Wichita Daylily Club.

In 2004, Mel and Doris moved into a duplex at Prairie Homestead, where Mel often led the Sunday vespers services. Mel was instrumental in having ID tags attached to trees around the complex, allowing other residents to learn tree names. He also became very interested in genealogy, and traced both sides of his family as well as both sides of Doris’ family back in history. He especially enjoyed exploring Doris’ family, saying that ‘he met such interesting people!’

Mel stuck around for one last hug from his children and grandchildren as they convened in Wichita for the annual Crane Christmas gathering on the Saturday between Christmas and New Years, and left his earthly life while all four of his children were nearby.

He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Doris, and by his children Diana Webster (Marc), Alan Crane (Joyce), Louise Williams (Don) and Celia Bradley (Terry); by eight grandchildren: Alaina Webster, Christa Morrison, Erica Webster, Monica Childers, Kathryn Henderson, Kristin Williams, Emily LaBranche and Alexander LaBranche; and by three great-grandchildren: Madeline Webster-Stoppel, Gabrielle Webster-Stoppel, and Maddox Morrison. He is preceded in death by his sister, Patricia Hansen and by his brother, Norman Robert Crane and his wife, Corlene.

A Celebration of Life service for both Melvin and Doris will be held on Saturday, July 26 at 2pm in the chapel at Prairie Homestead, 1605 W May St., Wichita, KS 67213. In lieu of flowers, tax-deductible memorials may be made in Melvin’s name to Prairie Homestead Senior Living. Memorials may be donated online at https://www.prairiehomestead.org/make-a-donation.html or mailed to Prairie Homestead Senior Living, 1605 W May St., Wichita, KS 67213.

We miss you Mel, Dad, Grandpa, Great-Grandpa, but your love lives on in our hearts and lives.