Roy Crane 1933-2012

Sue Brewer Crane is an Atco Kid.

Roy Crane (1933 - 2012)

Luther LeRoy Crane, 78, of Melbourne, died Sunday, January 29, 2012, in Melbourne, FL. "Roy" was born August 9, 1933 in Delta, CO.

Services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 1, 2012, at First United Methodist Church of Melbourne, 110 E. New Haven Avenue, Melbourne, FL.

He was predeceased by his parents, Martin L. and Catherine E. (Newton) Crane; son, Michael Allen Crane; brother, James William "Bill" Crane and granddaughter, Janet Jeffreys Cottee.

Survivors are his wife/soul mate of 38 years, Sue Crane; sons, Luther LeRoy Crane, Jr, Phillip M. Crane, Mark E. Ferguson (Vanessa), Michael R. Ferguson (Frankie); daughters, Debra L. Crane, Leslie Santos (Tony); grandchildren, Suzanne Costner (Lee), Antonia Santos, Jennifer Edwards (Danny), Shawn Michael Crane, Shannon Grandin (Matt), Rachel Ferguson, Linda Scholle (Mike), Jay Jeffreys, and Jaime Jeffreys; great-grandchildren, Cynthia and Rebecca Edwards, Sarah and Bella Costner, Zamarah and Isaac Santos, and Josh, Emma, Taylor and Kayleigh Jeffreys; brother, John Crane (Linda); sister, Sara Maiorana (Larry); brother-in-law, Marvin Tallent, Jr. (Pam); his Treacy/Ryan Irish family, and "heart" son, Tom Short.

Roy grew up in Orlando, attending St. James Catholic School for two years, playing football, and graduating from Orlando High School. He worked on the Bronson ranches until enlistment in the United States Marine Corpswhere he was trained as an avionics electronics technician. Upon discharge, he worked for Lockheed in Marietta, GA until he took a job a tPatrick Air Force Base. With the opening of Kennedy Space Center he transferred to NASA to work in the biomedical field.

Roy was privileged to work on all the space programs - Mercury through the Shuttle and even Space Lab - and was chosen Launch Awareness Honoree for the maiden voyage of Columbia. He designed and built a cardiac simulator used in pre-launch testing. He received numerous awards and recognition of project contributions throughout his career.

In retirement, Roy enjoyed all his favorite activities: motorcycles, boating, fishing, camping, traveling, reading, gardening, photography, and, most of all, family gatherings. His great pride was his family, saying that "children are wonderful, grandchildren are better and great-grandchildren are pure blessings". Roy had many names, but his most favorite was Pop! With that in mind, donations would be greatly appreciated to Florida Methodist Children's Home, 51 Children's Way, Enterprise, FL 32725, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital , 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

Arrangements by South Brevard Funeral Home, Melbourne, 321-724-2222.