Elaine Kay Crane

On May 11th , 2019, Elaine Crane passed away after a long battle with congestive heart failure. She is survived by her daughter, Jenae Collins, her grandsons Layne Hyde and Collin MacClarence and her siblings Keith Hyde, Pat Hyde Hall and Janet Ott. Elaine was born in Nebraska on February 15, 1948. She traveled to Alaska in 1968 on vacation and loved it so much that she decided to reside here for the rest of her life. Elaine was a graduate of UAA and was an art teacher. Most of her teaching career she taught as a substitute teacher in the Anchorage school district teaching all subjects. Elaine was a wonderfully creative and talented artist who spent countless hours rendering all sorts of arts and crafts projects with her daughter and grandchildren creating wonderful childhood memories for them to reflect upon. She was best known for her generous peace loving way and she taught her family the meaning of unconditional love. Elaine was admired for the fact that she did not believe in traditional gender roles and was the primary bread winner in the family. Elaine was happiest when she was taking care of her loved ones and helping people which led to her career in the helping profession working with developmentally disabled individuals as administrator supervisor of a group home called DdARES. She helped her residents maintain their independence and equality. She enriched the lives of every person she encountered and she will be remembered fondly and missed dearly by her friends and family. A private celebration of life party will be hosted by the family: invitation only.