James Crandell & The Greatest Generation

I first met Harold’s parents in the fall of 1977. We had been dating for a little while and it was time to meet them! So we drove down to his home town, Madison, Indiana, which was about a two hour drive from Indianapolis. At this time Harold’s parents were living in a mobile home on 40 acres of farm land on the outskirts of Madison. The home was very simply decorated with clocks and calendars which I found particularly interesting. I suppose they were actually more functional than decorative, which was also interesting to me. While his mom was very talkative, his dad barely spoke, which scared me a little! I wondered if he didn’t like me. I soon learned that James Crandell was a man of few words and that he chose his words wisely. He had a quiet and gentle spirit about him.

Harold and I married about two and half years latter. Over the years I came to love both of my in-laws. They both had a strong work ethic. Mildred worked for 30 years as a nurses aid at the Madison State Hospital. James served bravely as a US Air Force Tech Sargent aircraft mechanic over seas during WWII, and was part of what is affectionately known as “The Greatest Generation.” After the war he worked for 30+ years as the Service Manager at the Oldsmobile Dealership in Madison. By the time I met him he was a successful and hard working farmer. He worked long hours tending to his crops and fields in season and out of season. James was also a man of integrity. He said what he meant and meant what he said.

James loved meeting his friends at the local coffee shop. He loved his dog. He loved good food. He loved his country. He loved God. He loved his family, and he loved his wife, Mildred. Plain and simple, James was a good man and I was blessed to have him as my father-in-law.

By the time James was in his early 90’s, and Mildred in her mid 80’s, they were both in need of some assistance so they came to live with us in Texas in 2011. Soon after they moved in, knowing that James enjoyed working on things we asked him to fix a loose toilet handle. My husband and I went to work and came home that afternoon to find that he had taken the toilet completely off of the base, and it was laying out all over the bathroom floor in several pieces! We had a good laugh and then called our son-in-law, John, to come put it all back together. It was then we realized that his ability to fix things wasn’t quite like it used to be.

James preferred traditional meals with meat, potatoes, and vegetables. So, it wasn’t long before I figured out that pasta dishes, one pot meals, and casseroles were not his favorite meals. My husband would ask him, “How did you like that dinner Daddy?!” He would often reply, “Alright.” Then, every once and a while he’d say, “That’s good stuff!” I was happy to hear these words whenever he said them, and thought I was doing pretty good until one day I figured out that he said the same thing when he ate a McDonald’s chicken sandwich: “That’s good stuff!”

One day I took him for a hair cut and I thought I’d treat him with lunch at Jason’s Deli, one of my favorite restaurants. After we finished I asked him how he liked his meal and he replied, “Not too good.” I was disappointed as that was the first time he’d said that to me. It wasn’t even “Alright.”

Later on, as his condition progressed, it got to the point where he didn’t remember my name, so he just called me “the cook.” My husband joked with him often about problems with “the cook,” which gave my husband endless opportunities to make fun of my cooking! The laughter was good medicine for all of us.

Within a couple of years of coming to live with us, both James and Mildred moved into a nearby assisted living home. Not too long afterward, James passed away at the age of 95, on Valentine’s Day in 2014, leaving his beloved wife, Mildred, a widow after 72 years of marriage. Mildred passed away the following January.

After James’ passing, I found some handwritten notes that he took while a member at North Madison Baptist Church back in the 1960’s. They still hold true today. Here’s a few of them:

⁃ We believe about God what the Bible tells us.

⁃ God created the world.

⁃ God is all powerful.

⁃ God is everywhere present.

⁃ God is all knowing.

⁃ God is a personal God.

⁃ God reveals himself through nature.

⁃ God reveals himself through the Bible, through people, through the Holy Spirit. The greatest way is through Jesus Christ.

⁃ God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.

⁃ Sin is falling short, transgressions, going across boundaries.

⁃ When we sin, we should feel guilty. This is healthy.

⁃ Guilt is God given. It serves as a temperature gauge. It urges us to correct what is wrong.

⁃ Christ died for our sins.

⁃ When we become a Christian, we do not become sinless.

⁃ There is one way. Jesus Christ is the one way of salvation.

I believe James is in heaven today, where he’s spending eternity with Jesus, and not because he was a good man, but because one day, years ago he recognized himself as a sinner, in need of a Savior, and he placed his faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The One who took our place on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins. The same applies to his beloved Mildred.

I made a video photo collage in honor of James while he served in WWII and titled it, “The Greatest Generation: In Memory of James E. Crandell” Here’s the link to it: https://youtu.be/WxuNgqphIuE