Ilene Cranor

Ilene was born Ilene Fay Leonard in Montrose, Colorado January 15, 1948 and went to meet her Lord and savior on July 23, 2017 in Taylor Park Colorado. Ilene met Bruce Cranor where they both went to school at Ft. Lewis College in Durango before coming to Taylor Park to work for Sherman and Edna Cranor at the Taylor Park Trading Post. During the three summers there, she was courted by and then married Bruce Cranor in Tincup on July 20, 1969. The two lived most of their married life and raised their family primarily in Taylor Park. Rural life suited Ilene just fine after having grown up on a sheep ranch outside Montrose. They had a place with acreage in Montrose where they spent time for some winters, but Taylor Park always lured them back. In raising their family, she always put God first, trusting she would be guided in raising her family whom she dearly loved. Her love for Bruce and her kids was intense and her children and grandchildren reflect that love for God, their families and the natural world around them in Taylor Park. There is a plaque on a wall in their living room that simply says, “Let your faith be bigger than your fear” and Ilene accepted death without fear. Ilene saw beauty in the world that surrounded her, so prompted by her Aunt she went to college as an art major. As an artist, she could paint beautifully with an attention for detail in what she saw in people’s faces and nature’s soft light and lines. That awareness fueled her passion for interior decorating and guided her through color and lines to the get the best out of any room. Her family described how she could take a random item and make it fit beautifully into a room’s decor. She had an eye for the balanced and that is how she lived her life; a balance between God, family, work and pleasure. Bruce was quick to jump in the Jeep after a hard day’s work and Ilene was always a willing partner in his adventures. They explored most of Western Colorado and spent hours exploring the northeast end of the county in the hills and mountains around Taylor and Spring Creek. Ilene loved to fish, so many evenings or on their few days away from the resort the family could be found in an open meadow casting their lines into the meandering streams of Taylor Park. Bruce’s quest for adventure carried over in a zest for international travel and they explored Canada, Israel, Mexico and France to mention a few. Ilene was proud of her family and they of her. They loved her for her creativity, her smile and they shared her love of God. She is survived by her husband Bruce Cranor, their daughters Heidi (Brian Wiggins), children Colton and Brooke of Payson, Ariz.; Wendy Pierce and children Levi, Seth and Sara of Maui, Hawaii; and Jana (Chris Yoho) and children Christy, Cailey, Justin and Victoria of Taylor Park. She is also survived by her mother Helen Leonard and twin sister Irene Holden of Montrose. A service was held at the Tincup Town Hall on Monday, July 31, 2017 and Interment at the cemetery in Gunnison. A gathering was hosted by the Trinity Baptist Church of Gunnison.