Toni Kolar Crandall

Toni K. Crandall

February 17, 1947 – October 26, 2021

Toni Kolar Crandall passed away peacefully at home on October 26, 2021, after a long and tenacious battle with cancer. She was born on February 17, 1947, in Miles City, Montana, to the late Jewell E. (nee Anderson) and Anton W. Kolar. At the age of four she moved to the Proctor District of Tacoma, Washington, where she attended Washington Elementary, Mason Junior High, and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1965. She then attended the University of Washington, where she earned a B. A. in English and was a proud member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. While at the UW she met her future husband, Charles Kenneth (Kenn) Crandall, Jr. and they were married on July 11, 1970, over 51 years ago.

For 26 years beginning in 1970 they were a Navy family, living in eight different locations, including five separate cross-country moves. As the wife of a Naval Officer and aviator Toni’s responsibilities were vast. She hosted and attended functions, served as a leader to other spouses, managed the family household, and raised their three children, all which Toni made look easy.

Toni loved watching sports, particularly football and college basketball, and was a devoted UW Husky football fan and season ticket holder. She was a lifelong learner and a voracious reader who loved the library. She was active in her local book and garden clubs. She loved flowers and music. An accomplished pianist, Toni played for her church and at various weddings and events in her youth. Toni was also an exceptional cook, and her family is forever spoiled because of it.

Toni enjoyed travel, first visiting Kenn in Hong Kong and Japan when he was deployed, and later together taking road trips all around the U.S. (Toni loved road trips!), cruises to Alaska and through the Baltic Sea, and flights to explore Australia, New Zealand, Amsterdam, and England. She especially enjoyed her repeated visits to the Czech Republic, connecting with the land from which her father’s family immigrated in the early 1900s. But, perhaps even more than the travel itself, she especially loved the preparation where she would spend hours researching, learning, and planning excursions.

Toni loved being a mother and a grandmother. She is survived by her husband Kenn; her children Kenneth, Michael (Cheryl), and Emily (Greg); her sister Jane (George); and her grandchildren, Gabriel, Kenneth, James, Elizabeth, Adam, Henry, Anton, Lucy, and Lauren. A celebration of her life will be conducted at a later time.

Please visit https://www.cookfamilyfuneralhome.com/ to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Toni.

A special thank you to Dr. Hannah Linden and her team at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance for their exceptional care and guidance. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Cook Family Funeral Home of Bainbridge Island, WA.