Two years have already flown by since the passing of Grandma Jewel or "Other Mother". I will never forget seeing her on Valentines Day just a few days before she passed away suddenly and peacefully in her sleep. She wore a bold red shirt under this blue vest and matching pants suit. The blue was the same color of her eyes and the red shirt was worn in honor of Valentines Day. She was walking around Drucie's house with a smile, receiving valentines and visiting with grandchildren and great-grandchildren as they popped in throughout the day. This time of year just two years ago, we gathered as a family to remember and honor her at her memorial service just 6 months after Grandpa Clarence's funeral. These obituaries were composed by Grandpa Clarence far in advance.
JEWEL MAE (JACOBSON) CRANDALL, born May 23, 1917, at Lone Star (Safford), Arizona, to Fred B. and Sarah Loella (Wright) Jacobson. JEWEL attended the public schools in Safford and, upon graduation from High School, matriculated at the Arizona State Teachers College of Tempe. Her Major was in education with emphasis in music. She was proficient at the piano. Prior to graduation she was courted by her childhood friend, Clarence L. Crandall, whom she married on June 14, 1938. They were married in the LDS Temple at Mesa, and immediately took up residence in Washington, D.C. where Clarence was employed. There Jewel began her career as a housewife; but she added to their economic status by accepting employment with her college mentor, Senator "Dean Murdock", and later with the Railroad Retirement Board. Her tenure in the Nation's Capital lasted five years. These were the war years. When her husband was promoted to the position of Special Agent in his bureau the exigencies of war and government transferred their residence five times during the next thirty-five years, namely from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia, to Chicago, to El Paso, to Santa Fe, and finally to Phoenix, Arizona. It was in Sante Fe where JEWEL became an organizing factor in the branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Jewel's skills in the handling of small children won many friends in that city. By then she had six children of her own. Two of her children were born in the Nation's Capitol, one in the area of Chicago, and three in Santa Fe. Her home became a Primary for all faiths. The family's last transfer was to Phoenix, in October 1955. She sank her roots here for the next twenty-eight years. Here Jewel continued her close association with the LDS Primary Association. She served as the President of the Phoenix Stake Primary Association beginning in 1958. In the year 1960 Jewel went back to school at ASU for the purpose of fininshing her education with a BA degree. This she accomplished and then taught school for two years at the Grand Avenue Elementary School. This primed her indomitable spirit for education. She went back to ASU again and, on May 26, 1964, recieved the degree of Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education, with a major in Home Economics and Music Education. This led her to a proffesorship at Phoenix College. She retired there in 1979. Jewel's legacy in life has been that of educator and counselor to her husband and children.
CLARENCE L. CRANDALL, born at Thatcher, Arizona, Territory of Arizona, September 26, 1911. He was the first-born of Stanley L. and Elizabeth (Claridge) Crandall, the original proprietors of Crandall's Pharmacy in Safford, AZ. Clarence attended the public schools in Safford, Gila College in Thatcher, the University of Arizona at Tucson, and George Washington University in Washington D.C. He graduated from the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia and thereupon became associated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a Special Agent. Prior to entering on duty with his organization in 1935 he spent three years in Germany as a missionary for the LDS Church, 1932-1935. There he witnessed the nefarious machinations of Adolf Hitler as they unfolded. He assimilated a background in German affairs that led to his placement with the FBI. He began his career there as a translator and as such he became a factor in the prosecution of matters pertinent to the internal security of the United States. He was sent into the field as a Special Agent upon graduation from the FBI Academy. His assignments were in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, El Paso, Santa Fe, Phoenix, and sporadically in other places across the nation as exigency occured. He was trained especially to investigate internal security matters affecting the nation, but also to handle general criminal matters of a federal nature. At the time of his retirement in December 1974 he was assigned as a police-school instructor and as a public relations man for the bureau. His tenure with the United States government lasted 39 1/2 years. Clarence married Jewel Mae Jacobson of Safford on June 14, 1938. Their marriage was solemnized in the LDS Mesa Temple. They have resided in complete retirement in Thatcher since October 1983. They have six children, ____grandchildren and ____great grand-children.
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