Obituary of Marie F. Crane

September 12, 1938 - October 10, 2024

Marie F. Crane.  Age 86 of Southgate.

Loving mother of Kathleen Marie Crane (Karl Wenclas), Martin J. Crane (Sonia Rodriguez-Crane), Mary Margaret Crane-Biskner (Jim Biskner), Caroline Ann Crane (David LaFleur), and David Byron Crane (Julie Hardy). Dearest grandmother of Blake, Drew, Benjamin, Isabela, Noah, and the late Matthew David.

~Family Tribute

On October 10th, our beautiful mothers’ journey here on earth ended as Heaven welcomed her home.

On the morning of October 6th, mom missed her first mass since she was diagnosed with ALS  2 1/2 years ago. Instead, she was taken by ambulance to Wyandotte hospital where she was placed in hospice care. When Duffy and I arrived at the hospital from the airport, mom woke up her final time and reached out, putting the sign of the cross on our foreheads and making the shape of a heart with her hands, symbolizing her love for us. Her attention was immediately drawn above her. She began reaching palm open, towards what she was witnessing. It was clearly glorious, her eyes widened with the look of, what can only be described as “wondrous awe”.  Her gaze was transfixed on something that was more real to her than anything else in the room.  David, Duffy and I asked, ”Mom, are you seeing Heaven?” knowing she was unable to answer as ALS had taken away her ability to respond. It was clear she had a glimpse of something miraculous. These were mom’s last lucid moments here on earth, which I feel needed to be shared. The remainder of her time was spent in a peaceful state. Although extremely weak, in true mom fashion she continued to hold on until she felt everyone that needed to see her had said their goodbyes and 10 minutes after our Aunt Rose left her bedside, she took her last breath and skyrocketed to heaven to reunite with dad. A reunion 20 years in the making.

Our mom has been a steward of the Lord her entire life.  As early as we can remember she was saving our spare change for the missions, while as she would say, “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.

This horrific disease took everything from our mom but could not strip her of her faith. When ALS took her voice and the ability to communicate, she forged ahead continuing her service to those in need, volunteering weekly at church, soup kitchens, funeral luncheons and food pantries, with her writing pad in tow. When this disease then stole her strength to volunteer outside the home, she crocheted blankets and made biscuits for the dogs and cats in homeless shelters.

At mass, with what little strength she had she would genuflect fully, showing her reverence to our Lord. At the conclusion of mass, she would stay behind to light prayer candles for other family and friends and those less fortunate.  Not once did she complain, admit defeat, or feel self pity. Moms' mantra was always “One day at a time, sweet Jesus.”

As much as ALS stole from our mom it afforded each of us the gift of time, reconnecting individually on a deeper level with her as adults.

Life, as it tends to do, has separated us geographically as we moved across the country or state to pursue our dreams and start our own families. This limited our interactions to phone calls, annual family vacations and holiday visits. ALS offered us an opportunity to come together as a family, taking turns visiting and caring for mom while making it possible for her to remain in our childhood home until her final days. We spent this precious time in her beautiful garden, playing games, reading, praying, sharing memories, going through old photos, watching the Lions and Tigers, listening to music (her favorites being Simon and Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles and of course the treasured cd of dad playing the piano). We will be forever grateful for these precious moments spent with mom. We were so fortunate to be reintroduced to her strength, faith, perseverance, and selflessness. How lucky we are to have a mom that makes saying goodbye so difficult.  We will hold your love in our hearts until we can hold you again in heaven. Until then fly free mom, fly home! We love you.

A Memorial Mass will be held for Marie on Friday, October 18th at 10 AM at St. Joseph Catholic Church at St. Vincent Pallotti Parish. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Humane Society of Broward County, 2070 Griffin Road, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312 in Marie's honor.