Catherine "Cathy" A. (Connelly) Crane

Catherine Connelly Crane passed away at 5:30 pm on August 25, 2021 at Casey Health Care Center. She was born on September 24, 1958, in Charleston, Illinois, the daughter of Dwight and Carolyn Maxwell Connelly. On October 13, 1979, she married Roy Crane in Quincy, Illinois.

Survivors include her husband Roy Crane of Martinsville, parents Dwight and Carolyn Connelly of Martinsville, brother Mike Connelly of Champaign, Illinois, Uncle Phil and Aunt Katy Cunningham Connelly of Corvalis, Montana, Uncle Rex and Aunt Eleanor Maxwell Wilson and Aunt Patricia Maxwell Ryan, all of Martinsville,  and also very special cousins, nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her very beloved grandmother Katherine and grandfather Everett Connelly, her special grandfather Raymond and his wife Lorraine Maxwell, Aunt Doris Connelly Johnson, her Uncle Fred Ryan, her brother-in-law Ray Crane, and her mother and father in law, Jack and Cora Crane.

Cathy's earlier education included both Martinsville's North Center elementary school and Martinsville Junior High school.   She was a 1975 graduate of Quincy High School, and went to John Woods College in Quincy, Illinois, and played basketball there. She graduated from Lincoln Trail College, and was a 1991 graduate of Indiana State University.

During the commute from Martinsville to Lincoln Trail College, Cathy shared the ride and became good lifelong friends with LTC instructor and Martinsville native Nancy Pollard Holley and also became good friends with Jelia Jane Pollard. This friendship allowed Cathy to travel to much of the country with Nancy and Jane while sharing driving duties. These travels included a varied range of places, from Washington, D.C., New York City, and the Canton, Ohio, NFL Hall of Fame in the east half of the country to California and the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland Oregon in the west part of the country.  She also enjoyed trips around the country by both motorcycle and car with Roy.

Cathy had other interests as well. She loved fishing. She also liked to hunt morel mushrooms, as well as eating them. Cathy loved music. She was especially fond of the Moody Blues, and thoroughly enjoyed the two Moody Blues concerts she and Roy were able to attend. She was an expert card player, playing many games as a member of a four-some, enjoying both pinochle and spades.  She also was a fan of NFL football, rooting for the Dallas Cowboys and the Indianapolis Colts, in that order. Cathy was also an animal lover, enjoying the company of several dogs and cats in her lifetime. She enjoyed canoeing and rafting trips with her parents and her brother. And she also enjoyed a good life at home, as long as it included the occasional steak or burger on the grill, fresh ripe tomatoes, maybe a movie or a card game and good company.

When Cathy and Roy were dating, she was working as a cabinet maker at Hickox Cabinet Shop in Casey. After becoming a farm wife, she enjoyed helping on the farm. She liked driving the Case IH 9170 4wd tractor and the IH 1680 combine, making those jobs hers.  And she especially enjoyed working for/with her grandfather Raymond Maxwell in his meter shop in Martinsville.  She will be sorely missed.

Graveside funeral services and burial will be held at 12 pm on Monday, August 30, 2021, at Mt. Olive Cemetery in rural Martinsville, IL, with Brother Fred Morecraft officiating.  Visitation will be held from 10 – 11:30 a.m. on Monday morning at Greenwell Funeral Home, 30 N. Washington St., Martinsville, IL.  Per CDC guidelines, if you have not been fully vaccinated, face masks are required.  Please also maintain social distancing. 

Memorial donations may be made to Illinois Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services, 949 Co Rd 1300 N, Carmi, IL 62821.

To view the full obituary, send a condolence message, light a candle or post photos, visit www.markwellfuneralhome.com. Greenwell Funeral Home of Martinsville, IL, is in charge of the arrangements.

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