Annie May Craner

   Ancestral File Number: 6P96-43.

  General Notes:

A Brief History of Annie May Craner Allen

Annie May Craner was born May 10, 1902 in Oakley Idaho, of george and Mary Adams Craner.

Heritage: The George Craner Family had come from England. (There is a very interesting story of the voyage of the Craner family found in the personal history of both George Craner's, father and son.)

We will begin the story of Annie with her father, George Craner who resided in Tooele, Utah.

Annie tells of her father living down the street from the home of Heber J. Grant. Heber J. was an active athelete especially in baseball. Many of the games took him on tours away from his home. Sister Grant needed work to be done. George Craner was assigned many times to rake leaves or carry wood or do other yard work while Heber J. was playing.

After George Craner moved to Gurley Idaho, Heber J. Now the president of the Church, continued a friendship with George. Many times Annie Craner Allen would tell of Heber J. Grant (President) coming to the Craner home during his August vacation and staying with George days to weeks at a time. During such visits Annie told of both men working the fields, coming in for a large noontime lunch and then both men sitting in the parlor dipping homemade bread in large glasses of milk prior to closing the day.

Annie graduated from Burley High School where she had been the secretary of the class. She went to Albian Normal School. While there she was very involved in sports, running track and high jumping. At one time while a student there, she held the Idaho State high jump record for women.

Upon graduation she took a position with the school district and taught for several years the forth, fifth and sixth grades. She was considered a bery good teacher and won a reputation for fairness. Here she gained an attitude that stayed with her the rest of her life. "A failing student means that the instructor has failed to teach." She also felt each student should earn what the received, she tells of many times coaches of sports coming to her to get a grade changed so that youn man would be eligible to play and she would not change the grade, she was considered fair but tuff.

During the depression years she taught school and payed the property taxes for the Craner farm.

She met James Glenn Allen, a returned missionary who had become a mortician. When she was 28 years old, she tells of being very impressed with his knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ and flet that he could take her back to the Kingdom of God. They were married in 1931, in the Salt Lake Temple. A year later they moved to Oakland, California. Just in time to have a son, James Glenn Allen Jr. A year later they moved to southern California, and in 1938 created J.G. Allen Mortuary.

She was the dianamic force in her husband's life and the lives of others. She lived to be 91, and was in relative good health at her death of a stroke.

Annie and Glenn owned Mortuaries in Bell,and Los Angeles, California
Children:

1- James Glenn - Md - Edith Dyanne Dow
2- Jay Laurn - Md - Lois Norine Pitts
3- Karene - Md - Donald A. Mower
4- Annette - Md - Gary Roy Stephens

  LDS Information:

Baptism: 29 Sep 1910

Endowment: 18 Jun 1931, Salt Lake Temple

Sealed to Parents: BIC

She was sealed to her spouse on 18 Jun 1931 at Salt Lake Temple. (James Glenn Allen was born on 30 Mar 1902 in Auburn, Uinta, Wyoming, USA, died on 17 Jan 1980 in Orem, Utah, Utah, USA and was buried on 21 Jan 1980 in Orem, Utah, Utah, USA.)