A birthday to celebrate

Very few of us will ever live to be a centenarian, but one retired Depew schoolteacher will soon be celebrating her 102nd birthday!

Bedford, Indiana on June 14, 1919, James Wesley and Malinda Catherine (Bough) Crane welcomed a daughter, Hester Evelyn, into their lives and the world. Little could they possibly have known at the time that she would live to be 102 years of age and counting.

Meeting Evelyn, it can be difficult to accept her age as truth. She cooks, cleans, gardens, pays her bills, and maintains her home. She is pleasant, thoughtful, and has a delightful sense of humor and contagious joy. To understand what keeps her going, one need only look back at her purposeful, well-lived life.

Evelyn has lived and accumulated so many stories during her 102 years, and it happens to be extraordinarily easy to sit and listen, fascinated, as she recounts the tales of her life. Perhaps the most striking evidence for her longevity and full life rests in her faith, though. In fact, Evelyn cited two phrases for guiding her life’s choices. The first, a simple life principle, reminds her to live “forever relying on God.” The second, she heard from God, himself, once as she was about to make a life-changing decision: “If you don’t have enough faith, maybe you ought not be going.” Grateful, Evelyn credits the latter message for keeping her on the right path.

Throughout her life, Evelyn held many jobs and lived in several states before she met the man she loved and married. In 1945, Evelyn married Junius Preston Craig. They quickly started a family, welcoming five children: Harriet, Catherine, George, Marcia, and Piper. During their life together, Preston and Evelyn supported each other. Evelyn even went back to college, earning multiple degrees in the 60s. She earned a Bachelor of Science in education and later earned a master’s degree as well. Her marriage lasted 33 years until Juni, as Evelyn affectionately called him, passed away in 1978.

After Evelyn earned her degrees, she taught one semester before she and Juni moved their family to Oklahoma around 1969, where she took a teaching job in Shamrock. Then, she taught in Shamrock for a single year before taking a teaching position in Depew. Evelyn continued to teach the first grade at Depew for 30 years, when she finally retired around 1990. However, Evelyn did so much more than teach and raise a family during those many years.

As previously mentioned, Evelyn’s faith proved to be the strongest contributor to her full, long life. Following their move to Oklahoma around 1969, Evelyn began her teaching job in Depew in 1970 and became a member of the First Baptist Church there as well, where she remains a member to this day. While she was teaching and attending the church, serving her community and God, she also committed herself to international missions work.

For a 25-30-year span of her life, Evelyn participated in a multitude of mission trips. She recalled having gone during her summer breaks when she was still teaching. Though overseas mission trips are not for the faint-hearted, Evelyn happily disclosed joining “at least three mission trips per year” for the 25-30 years in which she was able to go and serve. Furthermore, she participated in mission trips on every continent except for Antarctica.

While listening to her list some of the countries in which she served on mission trips, it was impossible not to notice Eve lyn had served in numerous countries globally, spread across all continents except Antarctica, throughout her life. When asked which trip was her favorite, with her cheeks rosy, her joyous eyes alight, and her smile wide, she simply replied, “all of them.” With the excitement of a child receiving a long-awaited gift, she recited mission stories seemingly forgotten or long-savored within her heart and her mind, country-by-country. She revisited Kenya, Germany, Wales, Brazil, Scotland, Hong Kong, Russia, Taiwan, Tasmania, and more right there at her kitchen table, eager to spread the joy of the Lord that has served her so well in this life.

As June 14th rolls around this year, Evelyn will officially be 102. She currently knows of no plans for a party but perhaps suspects her family may have a birthday gathering in mind. At 102, Evelyn’s contagious joy and living testament are the life of any party, especially her own. If you know Evelyn, please send her birthday wishes for another wonderful year!