Eleanor Isabelle (Ferrell) Crank passed away peacefully in her sleep, in Belgrade, Mont., on Feb. 20, 2010 after a five-year battle with colon cancer.
Eleanor was born in Wichita on Sept. 7, 1939 to Isabelle Haines Ferrell and Garland (Jack) Ferrell Jr. As the oldest of four children, Eleanor had an active childhood on the Ferrell Ranch, founded in 1888, in Beaumont.
She was a graduate of Cottey College (Nevada, Mo.) in 1959 where she earned an associate of arts degree and later attended the University of Kansas, where she was an active Sigma Kappa and earned a bachelor of fine arts degree (1961) and a bachelor of art education degree (1964). A lifelong student of art, she was constantly endeavoring to find ways to introduce and bring art alive to those who wanted to learn and enrich their knowledge of art.
Married to John Richard Crank Jr. on June 22, 1966 in Kansas City, Mo., the couple moved to Harlowton, Mont., with their two young children where they were proprietors of a local hotel. In 1978 the family moved to Bozeman, Mont. In 1983 Eleanor opened Le Petite Gallerie on Main Street in Bozeman. While owning the gallery Eleanor hosted several different specialty art shows, including an annual postage stamp size art show. After selling the gallery in 1993 she opened AU Goldleaf Studio in The Emerson Cultural Center where she was the proprietor until 1995 when she moved to Kansas and opened The Summit Hotel (The Beaumont Hotel). Most recently she owned and operated Southwind Studios in Beaumont.
Eleanor was a signature member of the Kansas Water Color Society and her work had been accepted in the Kansas postcard series sponsored by the Kansas Arts counselor. Over her career, Eleanor had several paintings accepted in regional juried art exhibits. She was a member of P.E.O., White Shrine, and while living in Bozeman was an active member of First Presbyterian Church singing in the choir and serving as an Elder.
Eleanor loved sharing her art with her family and friends and in her final days she wished to return to Montana to see friends and the mountains that had inspired so many of her paintings.
Eleanor is preceded in death by her husband John; father, Jack; and mother, Isabelle. She is survived by her two children, Catherine (Crank) Vincent (husband Bob) of Belgrade, Mont., and Laura (Crank) Shelton (husband Myron) of Champlin, Minn., as well as three grandchildren, John, Grace and Olivia. She is also survived by her three younger siblings, Susan F. Pokorny-Egolf of Houston, Texas, Anne Ferrell-Thomsen of Irvine, Calif., and Garland P. (Pete) Ferrell, III of Beaumont.
Those who knew Eleanor and her art know that she saw beauty in everything around her. She will be missed by her friends and family, and her spirit will live on in her art.
Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. April 3 at the First Presbyterian Church, Bozeman, Mont.
Memorials can be sent to: The Cancer Center of Kansas, 700 W. Central Suite 100, El Dorado, KS 67042. Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service.
www.dokkennelson.com
