Paul Thomas Cranor

Paul Thomas Cranor died Monday, December 31, 2018 at Horizons Care Center.  He was 72.  Paul was born in Salina, Utah, on March 7, 1946 to James T. and Ruth M. (Allen) Cranor. He attended several different schools as the family moved around until Paul was in high school.  He graduated from Boulder High School in 1964.  In 1967 he married his high school sweetheart, Frances Pettigrew while attending college in Boulder.  He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Organic Chemistry in 1969 and they moved to Manhattan, Kansas where he earned his Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry.  At that point he realized he did not want to be a chemist for the rest of his life, so he did not pursue his PhD.  Instead they moved back to Boulder and he continued his education at the Univ. of Colorado receiving his MBA in Marketing in 1974.  In October, 1976 they moved to Paonia, CO because Paul loved to hunt & fish.  They purchased his great grandparent’s (Tandy & Rose McDaniel) 80 acre farm on Bone Mesa, approx. 3 miles south of Paonia.  He educated himself about irrigation & water rights & for many years worked as the person who took care of opening/closing the irrigation system gates at the Beaver Reservoir.  The many activities (besides hunting & fishing) he loved included hiking, camping, woodworking (making beautiful furniture), building houses, running on the Paonia Volunteer Fire Department, working as an EMT on the North Fork Ambulance, teaching hunter safety classes, raising & training pack llamas as well as taking friends/paying customer on pack trips, driving school bus, picking fruit and reading.  There was always venison, elk, bear, goose, duck, turkey, pheasant, antelope and/or fish in the freezer.  He always had at least one or two dogs, black labs, yellow labs &/or chocolate labs, that accompanied him wherever he went.

He is survived by Fran, his wife of 51 years, 3 brothers: Roy (Ila) Cranor of Paonia, Jan (Debby) Cranor of Ft. Collins, and Val (Erin) of Cincinnati, OH, 4 nephews & 5 nieces.  He will be greatly missed.

Cremation has occurred & a memorial service will be held at a later date when family & friends can travel in better weather.

Crippin Funeral Home & Crematory of Montrose, CO is assisting the family.