FULTON – After a charmed and remarkable life, Jimmie Uval Crane passed on to his Maker on December 30, 2007.

Born on December 19, 1935, in a modest four-room house on Patton Flat Road to Floyd and Iva Crane, he was the first of their four children. Jimmie vividly recalled the day of his arrival in later years to his children and grandchildren. He would recall how cold it was that wintry night as the wind and snow blew through cracks in the roof, and the extra blankets his Momma had to wrap around him to keep him from freezing.

Raised on Patton Flat, he attended Tremont schools and was the senior class president, elected on a platform of free ice cream for everyone. He was active in all school curriculums, a member of the FFA, and showed a blue ribbon heifer that beat Carl Comer at the fair that year. Shortly after graduation, television was new, and he decided the future was in television repair. He moved to Jackson and attended television repair school. Quickly realizing that television repair may not be his calling and missing his high school sweetheart, he came back to Itawamba County and married his high school sweetheart, Hilda Lindsey, in 1954. They remained married until his passing some 53 years later.

With the economy in Itawamba County stagnant in 1954, Jimmie and Hilda moved back to Jackson, where Jimmie had been promised a construction job. He learned how to lay ceiling tile and brought that knowledge back with him to Fulton when his father called him two years later. In 1956, Jimmie joined his father, F.L., and later brother Johnny joined to form F.L. Crane and Sons. With F.L.’s background in plaster and Jimmie’s newfound knowledge in ceilings, the company flourished. Today, the company with such modest beginnings gives hundreds of people in Mississippi and the southeastern United States a job. Jimmie remained a resident of Itawamba County until his death.

Jimmie was a member of the Fulton Church of Christ, a 32nd degree Mason and member of the Fulton Masonic Lodge. He served his community as a member of the Fulton Board of Alderman for 20 years, was a founding member and past president of the Itawamba County Development Council, and served on the board of directors for the Northeast Mississippi Medical Center. He served his industry and was past president of the Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors, past president of the Association of Wall and Ceiling Industries, and on the board of directors of American Subcontractors Association. He was a founding member of the Tombigbee Bank and Trust and was the Chairman of the Board, later serving on the board of directors for UniSouth Bank. He served his state on the executive committee of the State Agricultural and Industrial Board under Cliff Finch, and was on the State Medicaid Commission under former governors Cliff Finch and William Winter. His respected opinion and good judgment was an asset to everyone that knew Jimmie.

Jimmie is survived by his wife of 53 years, Hilda Lindsey Crane, his eldest son, Donny, and his wife, Peggy, of Fulton, his daughter, Karen Schmidt, and husband, Randy, of Texarkana, Texas; two sisters, Virginia Chandler and husband, James, of Fulton, and Delois Montgomery and husband, Larry, of Fulton; one brother, Johnny Lee Crane and wife, Bessie Lynn, of Fulton; five grandchildren, Lee Crane and wife, Kim, Megan Wileman and husband, Cale, Justin Crane and wife, Whitney, Katheryn Schmidt and Emily Schmidt, and step granddaughter, Amber Leigh Russell. Six great-grandchildren, Chandler, Jay and Ben Crane, Taylor, Cole and Eli Wilemon, and step great-granddaughter, Anniston Russell.

Pallbearers will be his grandsons, Lee Crane, Justin Crane, Chandler Crane, Cale Wilemon and nephews, Chip Crane, Lee and Luke Montgomery, and Jim Chandler. Honorary pallbearers will be Jimmie’s hunting and boating friends.