HomeMy Public PortalAboutCrutcher, John and Chris%4P 571ar A Pe/5 — 717/ol8's
Served 14 years
Valley clerk dies
By Mike Stewart
The Star -News
Valley County Clerk John W.
Crutcher, who held his office for
more than 14 years, died Monday
morning following a heart attack
he suffered Sunday.
A memorial service for Crut-
cher will be held at 2 p.m. Thurs-
day at the Community Christian
Church in Cascade. The service
will be conducted by Pastor Ron
Neumann of the church.
Crutcher, 62, had held the of-
fice of county clerk since Dec. 14,
1970, when he was appointed to
fill the seat vacated by his
predecessor.
Monday's meeting of the
Valley County Board of Commis-
sioners was recessed at noon by a
visibly shaken board following
word of Crutcher's death.
Besides his position as county
clerk, Crutcher served as clerk
and business manager of the
Cascade School District for the
past 15 years.
"Personally, I lost a very good
friend and the people of Valley
County lost someone who work-
ed for Valley County," county
commissioner Suzanne Probst '
said Tuesday.
"Crutch," as he was known to
everyone who had regular deal-
ings with him, was born in 1922,
in Great Falls, Mont. A military
veteran of World War II, he flew
35 missions as a B-17 pilot with
the 8th Air Force in England.
John Crutcher
He also served as first and se-
cond president of the Idaho
Association of Counties, and also
served a9 director of the county's
chapter of the American Red
Cross. He was a member of the
Cascade Golf Association.
He married Jewel Morris in
Cascade in 1942, and the two had
three children: two sons, John, of
Redmond, Wash., and
Christopher, of Spokane; and a
daughter, Candy Lee Nash, of
Post Falls.
Besides his wife and children,
survivors include one brother,
Ernest, of Bellevue, Wash.; one
sister, Mary Alice Hansen, of
Billings, Mom.; and -three grand-
children.
The Crutchers returned to
Cascade in 1946, where he owned
and operated the Phillips 66 gas
station and bulk plant. Cruichcx
also operated the mail :run intol
Yellow Pine and Big Creek for 20
years during that same time
period.
The family requests that no
flowers be sent to the memorial
service. Instead, memorials can
be made in Crutcher's name in
care of Treasure Valley Bank for
the Valley County Hospital
Foundation.
Probst, who worked for nearly
a decade in the courthouse before
being elected commissioner last
November, said Crutcher will be
difficult to replace.
Current School Board Chair-
man LaVaughn Herrick said
Crutcher served as a trustee for
15 years before being appointed
clerk.
"I just hardly know how to say
it. He was such a help to the
board. He was as fine a fellow as
could possibly be," Herrick said.
Robert Remaklus, a Cascade
attorney and acting chairman of
the Valley County Republican
Central Committee, said he is ac-
cepting resumes from persons
wanting to be considered as Crut-
cher's replacement.
Remaklus' wife, Phyllis, is the
current deputy county clerk, but
she said Tuesday that she would
not accept the position if offered.
"Our county has lost a
dedicated county servant and I
have lost a friend," Remaklus
said. "John Crutcher was one of
my first acquaintances in
Cascade when we moved here in
the fall of 1948. Filling the
vacany created by his untimely
passing shall be most difficult."
Loit'y Valley Acivoc d e_ (;c_'t 3 i /c 9 3
Author Crutcher racks up
more accolades
Spokane author and Cascade native Chris Crutchcr, 1_he son of
Jewell and the late John Crutcher, has again been recognized for
his writing for youths.
Next week he will be in Lansing, Mich., to receive an award
for best book of the year from the Michigan Library Association
Young Adult Division.
The award is for his collection of short stories called Athletic
Shorts.
In November, Crutcher will travel to Pittsburgh, Penn., to receive
an ALAN Award, which is given yearly to the person who has
made a significant contribution to the field of young adult litem-
ture. That award will put him the company of some highly regard-
ed authors of books for young adults, including Robert Cormier,
Sue Ellen Bridges, Madelyn L'Engle, Cynthia Voigt, Richard
Peck, and Katherine Paterson.
Crutcher's books are available at most area bookstores.