“The best son, brother & friend you could have. We miss you more than anything but know God has you in his arms and for that we are thankful because we know one day we will see you again 🧡
Life story
Hunter Travis Crane, 18, of Frederick County, Virginia, passed away unexpectedly, Tuesday, January 15, 2013, in Bloomery, West Virginia.
Hunter was born in 1994, in Winchester, Virginia, the son of Derek R. and Tina M. Crane. He was a senior at James Wood High School, and worked with his family at Crane Welding. He was a member of the Shockeysville Bible Church in Shockeysville, West Virginia, and occasionally attended the Church of the Good Shepherd in Winchester.
Hunter was an amazing individual who had a passion for life; his motto was “Yo Lo” which meant “You only live once”. He lived by this starting with his love of racing which began at the age of 7, and where he has since won two National Championships in go cart racing. He later moved on to racing four cylinders at Winchester Speedway where he has been awarded countless trophies and awards. In addition to racing his other passions include playing football with the James Wood High School Colonels as a offensive and defensive lineman. He was also an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed the chance of hunting and fishing whenever possible. Hunter was devoted to his family and friends, described as typical “Country Boy”. He enjoyed playing pool, bonfires and hanging out with the guys. He had a very special place in his heart for both his dog “Gauge” and his very special 16th birthday present, a 2002 Ford Mustang. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him; his presence in a room never went unnoticed. He was described by his family as “Simply the Best”.
Surviving with his parents of Whitacre, is his sister, Kaitlyn Marie Crane of Whitacre; maternal grandparents, Calvin and Beverly Luttrell, of Stephens City, Roger and Linda Whitlock, Sr. of Gore; paternal grandparents, Fred and Barbara Crane, Jr. of Whitacre; many aunts, uncles and cousins.
Somehow 11 years has gone by.
You were the extra brother I had growing up & there are so many fond memories of our childhood, that I don’t know how to narrow it down. I think my fondest memory was in elementary school when you sat on a stapler that was open & face up. You jumped up so fast & screamed, only to find out you had a staple in your butt. You then quickly got the nickname “staple butt” & you hated it so much; definitely more than you hated “fuzzy wuzzy.” When you would come over, you always made it a point to hangout with me as well & include me. As we got older, you were still so much fun to be around, everyone loved you. Except my dog… Candy. She hated everyone but you seemed to always think it was just you, (maybe because she bit you in your butt that time you were shaking it in her face, tormenting her 🤔), so you’d use me as your human shield whenever you walked in our house. I think you knew it made it worse but that was your way of playing with her. When she crossed the rainbow bridge our senior year, I remember you coming up to my locker & telling me “ I heard Candy passed… I would say I’m sorry for your loss, but she hated me, so I’m not sorry” & you slammed my locker. All of that was out of fun, of course, as you had the biggest smile across your face, then gave me a big hug & said you were only kidding. Life has never been the same since you were taken from us. I hope you hang out with your family all day, everyday & watch over your niece & nephew closely. I also hope you & Candy are the best of friends now. Love you so much & wish you were still here.
You were such a bright light in our family. You always had a smile (or smirk) on your face and the best sense of humor. I loved watching you and Ryan grow up together. You made every family get together so much fun. I’ll never forget the Easter when Ryan had a hole in his bag and you followed him and picked up all the eggs that fell out. You were so excited about it too and Ryan had no clue 😂. We all just watched and laughed the whole time. I also will never forget taking you to your first Dallas cowboy game. We had season tickets and the redskins were playing terrible that year (nothings changed) lol but we thought it was a great time to take you so you could watch your cowboys win! (That’s the one time the redskins pulled out the win) lol, but we all had such a good time! I also will never forget the time you, Ryan and Shane were teaching Brady to say bad words and yall thought that was the funniest thing! Haha… You made a huge impact on all of us and we miss you so much!❤️
Hunter, Growing up you were my best friend, but more importantly you were family. Some of my earliest memory’s involve you in some way. From playing two hand touch in our parents back yard, having our crazy flash light tag games until it got so late that uncle Derek would come out with the bobcat call to scare us back to the house. As we got older we stayed just as tight from going on beach trips, to just spending time in our basements waiting for our parents to sleep so we could sneak some alcohol lol. As time has passed, I still find myself thinking back on those memories often and love sharing them with my shipmates on our floats. I wish we could of continued to make more as we got older, but I will always cherish the ones I got. I love and miss brother and cant wait till the day I see you again ❤️
Hunter, what a ride my man. It’s hard to think it’s been 11 years since you left us to go serve the Lord & be a guiding angel for all of us down here. You were so damn cool & your impact was that vast that he needed your help more up there. What a stud my guy! We experienced so many first together from our first football games in little leagues to our first sips of liquor out of your parents dining room cabinet. Spending all night looking through playboys magazines, sneaking girls in the basement, carrying you on crutches 15 blocks in the pouring rain at Ocean City just so we could meet up with two chicks. Spotlighting deer all night out the window while playing video games. To long talks all night about life, death, the future & everything in between. Sometimes when things are quiet and I’m all alone my memories become clear as day to the times & laughs we shared. My favorite laugh I ever shared was us in the basement watching Clerks2, literally laughing until we were crying. My most favorite laughs were with you my friend. We were gasoline to eachothers fire, a dangerous combination, absolute reckless companions from day 1. You are more than a friend you are a brother to me. I wouldn’t be half the man I am if it wasn’t for our paths crossing and all the wonderful & wild times we shared. Your smile was contagious with unmatched charisma. I long for the days I get to share the legend of who you were to your niece, nephew, and my future kids. You’re a one of a kind, an irreplaceable brother of mine. The amount of times you would have been down to Nashville for the weekend to visit by now isn’t even a question. Sometimes when I’m out & about I think damn if only Hunter was here this would be perfect. Then it dawns on me that you are, you’re always here I just can’t see you but I appreciate you watching over me. Even though things still don’t make sense to me after all these years I’ve gotten better in trusting in Gods plans. The impact you left on us down here will always be shouted from the mountains & echoed through the valleys. I’m know you’re the freaking man in Heaven just like you were here. Can’t wait for you to greet me at the gates with that shit eating grin when my day comes & a cold one in your hand. Them Cowboys looking good this year man! Love you always. Proverbs 17:17 “ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
We are so sad we never got to meet you here on earth but mom says that you picked us just for her. Everyone says they see a little bit of you in both of us. We love you and will always remember you.
Love, Huntley & Lane 🧡
I’ve never had the greatest memory (gee, I wonder why), but I’ll never forget the first day we spoke to each other. I was at a a new school, Frederick County Middle. We both had history class together. You came in that morning and started to complain that you forgot to do your homework from the night before. I overheard you saying it so I leaned forward and without saying anything to you; I slipped you my homework. You thanked me a couple times as you handed it back to me, and from there on, we were friends. Over the course of the next 5 years we became best friends. Hanging out almost every weekend, hunting together, partying together, having pool parties, fishing down by the pond (I never knew how petrified you were of bugs), hanging out at the race track, and many more. We had so many amazing memories together. Memories that I will never forget. I could go on and on about our friendship, but I would need a book to write it all down. And a couple of beers while doing it so I don’t get thirsty. I’ll keep it short and sweet, I miss you brother, and I’ll always be thinking about you. I love you man.
When I think about high school there isn’t a memory I don’t think about that doesn’t involve you because all of my best memories, involve you. From football games, middle school and high school classes we all hated being in. But you were the smartest of us all. Parties, bonfires, hangouts, skipping class, the time you had a party when your parents were away and gabby and I cooked food all weekend in your house for all you boys, you getting lost in your own closet, almost getting arrested on our way to homecoming together, when you shoved me through a window of your farmhouse after your parents left so we didn’t freeze and so much more (sorry Tina and Derek) lol We grew up together, we laughed together and we were all best friends. You were funny, you were kind and you loved your friends and family so much. I always admired how much you cared and loved your family. You were so proud to call Tina and Derek your parents and Kaitlyn your sister. He loved you guys. It was so hard losing someone so close and someone like you in life because you were one of the good ones. I miss you every day and I think about you all of the time. I see you in the those beautiful children Kaitlyn has brought into this world and I see you in your family who are some of the best people I know. You’d be so proud of them. And I hope you’d be proud of all of us. I will never stop loving you and I will see you again. We all love you and we all miss you. Cheers to you my friend🧡🍻
Hunter, you were full of life and full of fun. I loved coaching you and all of the boys. That group of young men is extremely special to me and you will forever continue to influence me and those young men as they’ve now grown to be the kind of sons, brothers, husbands and fathers that we strived to help them become. You will always be a part of that legacy and live on in the hearts and minds of all of those you impacted! Every time I see them, I see you with them. Whenever I see their children, I see you. I know that you’re with them. I know that you’re wanting the best things for them just like we did for you. I want you to know that this grumpy old coach will always be looking out for them down here on earth and I hope that you can smile knowing that we all loved you and are giving that much more love in this life because it’s what you would have done!
Until we meet again, friend!
-Coach Smelser
Hunter Crane, a name that will forever live in our lives and in our community. Hunters smile was something genuine, it always lit up the room. The only time he didn’t have a smile on his face, was when the Cowboys lost or we ran out of beer. Your spirit lives in all of us, I know one day we will meet again. We all miss you buddy!
The sweet boy with the biggest smile and brightest eyes…. You have taught us the more broken we are, the closer God comes. I know you are so proud of your mom, dad and Katie. They have shown us all a strength we didn’t know existed.
We know you are all around us and what a beautiful day it will be when everyone is together. Love to you ♥️
Hunter impacted so many lives. I remember when my father told me that he was gonna give Hunter a hand with his 1st racecar. Hunter picked up on it fast, he was a top contender very early on in his young career. Wasn't long before he got his first win, I just remember dad being super happy and proud of Hunter. Hunter was a hell of a driver! I credit Hunter for myself getting into racing, and I was lucky enough to race Hunters car several times. Every driver has that special win or 2 that stand out in their careers, the 1st win i got in Hunter car is right there at the top of my list of most special wins. Our family thinks the world of Hunter and his entire family. The Cranes are great great people. We are grateful that we got to cross paths, and share life experiences together with Hunter and continue to do so with his family! To his family, I know it hurts to not physically have him here with you now, but the best part of it all is that you will get to spend eternity with him. Rest easy Hunter!! We love you buddy!
The Hottles.
It's extremely hard to fathom that we're coming up on 11 years without you. It feels like yesterday and yet I feel like we've all been missing you and our times together for a lifetime. Middle and high school truly would not have been the same without you. From waiting in your truck after high school football games with Gabby and Kristin, the many bonfires and parties, homecoming and prom over the years, and sharing rides as we both lived way out in the boonies. Your smile was truly one of a kind but more so your positive attitude. Losing someone so close at a young age taught me more than I can explain. You not only affected me while here with us but honestly more so after you were gone. Life lessons that I never wanted to learn so early but I carry with me to this day. Not a day goes by that I don't feel like you've affected my life and my ability to love and care for others. I will continue to tell those in my life about you and carry on those life lessons. I cannot wait to get another hug of yours one day again. You and your family are loved today and always, Laken Lee (Fleming) Meadows
You touched so many lives while you were with us. The fact that you are still touching the lives of others is simply amazing. I know how important your family was to you and I believe you continue to look after them. I know your proud to see your Mom and Dad push through and continue to look out for those who were important to you and those that were important to you continue to look out for them. Your sister is a strong & caring woman. I know you continue to have a huge influence on her. You would be so proud of her.
It’s truly amazing how you continue to influence so many.
Even after these years it’s still hard to find the words. You drove me nuts but I always dropped everything to be there for you. You always texted us when you needed us (4 LOKOS) and knew that Eric and I would always be there. You taught Brady all the things. You were his absolute best friend. He still talks about you. Just the other day he was looking up football video from James Wood to see if he could find you. Can you believe he is in high school now? Here we are, James Wood. So all the things that you taught and showed him he’s putting to work. We miss you everyday. Continue to watch over us. We love and miss you. Until we meet again!
Our hearts and lives haven’t been the same since the day you left. You made such an impact in your short 18 years to everyone that knew you. You are loved as much today as the day you were born and missed terribly. Uncle Mike and I along with family and friends did our best to be strong for your mom dad and Katie. We couldn’t have faced each day without knowing that one day we will see you again. Thank you for watching over us and for being here on 3/18/21 to help your Paw Paw cross over (He told us you were there). I believe you were here on 12/14/23 to meet uncle Junior also.♥️. Continue sending us signs that you are with us.
Until we meet again
Love,
Uncle Monkey and Aunt B.
.
I’ll never forget the look on your face pulling into victory lane when you won your first race in September 2012. That was a small glimpse of the time we spent together. You were always stealing my sunflower seeds at the races or asking me to bring you a sweet tea lol. You were the life of the party and we had plenty of fun nights in your parents basement. This tragedy completely shook our school and lives. You are missed everyday down here. It’s truly amazing to see the way the community comes together to honor your name. Until we meet again my friend, I hope you’re having a beer with Jesus 💙
P.s. the joy that Huntley and Lane bring to your mom and dad is honestly the most incredible thing to witness. The spark in their eyes those grandbabies bring really fill my heart with so much peace knowing you sent them. Love you!
Some days it feels like you left us yesterday and some days it feels like forever ago.I love you to heaven and back. Wish we could have one more race around the house to see who was the fastest! Can’t wait to see you again
Hunters 29th birthday 11/09/23
Just wait until you see
