Wayne, son of Ralph William and Pearl Irene (Collins) Crawford, was a native of Tulare County, CA., and had lived in Hanford for 30 years. He had been employed by Safeway Creamery for 27 years and had worked for Stauffer Chemical in Visalia for three years. He was a veteran of WWII, and a member of the Kings County Boat Club.
An after-work trip in their private plane to join relatives in Paso Robles for dinner ended in tragedy for Wayne and Verla Crawford. They had flown to Paso Robles where they were met at the Paso Robles airport by her sister from Lompoc and a brother from Boston. After dinner they returned to the airport and the Crawfords took off about 10:30 p.m. The following morning, a crop duster sighted wreckage of their downed single engine craft in Cottonwood Canyon about three miles due south of Highway 41, not far from Cholame. Both Wayne, 57, and Verla, 54, were dead in the wreckage. Both of the Crawfords were qualified pilots and had logged considerable flight time. They owned two small aircraft, leasing tiedown space at the Hanford Airport and occasionally rented out the planes. Wayne and Verla were both members of the First United Methodist Church in Hanford. They were very active in the church and also in the Merriweds group and working with the Methodist youth group. They were both full of whit and enthusiasm for life. Church records indicate there were three sons: David, Donald and Dan. Dan died on November 24, 1971. They also had a daughter, Lavonne Louise, born Sept. 16, 1946 and died Nov. 23, 1946. Wayne's father was a Methodist minister.
An after-work trip in their private plane to join relatives in Paso Robles for dinner ended in tragedy for Wayne and Verla Crawford. They had flown to Paso Robles where they were met at the Paso Robles airport by her sister from Lompoc and a brother from Boston. After dinner they returned to the airport and the Crawfords took off about 10:30 p.m. The following morning, a crop duster sighted wreckage of their downed single engine craft in Cottonwood Canyon about three miles due south of Highway 41, not far from Cholame. Both Wayne, 57, and Verla, 54, were dead in the wreckage. Both of the Crawfords were qualified pilots and had logged considerable flight time. They owned two small aircraft, leasing tiedown space at the Hanford Airport and occasionally rented out the planes. Wayne and Verla were both members of the First United Methodist Church in Hanford. They were very active in the church and also in the Merriweds group and working with the Methodist youth group. They were both full of whit and enthusiasm for life. Church records indicate there were three sons: David, Donald and Dan. Dan died on November 24, 1971. They also had a daughter, Lavonne Louise, born Sept. 16, 1946 and died Nov. 23, 1946. Wayne's father was a Methodist minister.
Wayne, son of Ralph William and Pearl Irene (Collins) Crawford, was a native of Tulare County, CA., and had lived in Hanford for 30 years. He had been employed by Safeway Creamery for 27 years and had worked for Stauffer Chemical in Visalia for three years. He was a veteran of WWII, and a member of the Kings County Boat Club.
An after-work trip in their private plane to join relatives in Paso Robles for dinner ended in tragedy for Wayne and Verla Crawford. They had flown to Paso Robles where they were met at the Paso Robles airport by her sister from Lompoc and a brother from Boston. After dinner they returned to the airport and the Crawfords took off about 10:30 p.m. The following morning, a crop duster sighted wreckage of their downed single engine craft in Cottonwood Canyon about three miles due south of Highway 41, not far from Cholame. Both Wayne, 57, and Verla, 54, were dead in the wreckage. Both of the Crawfords were qualified pilots and had logged considerable flight time. They owned two small aircraft, leasing tiedown space at the Hanford Airport and occasionally rented out the planes. Wayne and Verla were both members of the First United Methodist Church in Hanford. They were very active in the church and also in the Merriweds group and working with the Methodist youth group. They were both full of whit and enthusiasm for life. Church records indicate there were three sons: David, Donald and Dan. Dan died on November 24, 1971. They also had a daughter, Lavonne Louise, born Sept. 16, 1946 and died Nov. 23, 1946. Wayne's father was a Methodist minister.
An after-work trip in their private plane to join relatives in Paso Robles for dinner ended in tragedy for Wayne and Verla Crawford. They had flown to Paso Robles where they were met at the Paso Robles airport by her sister from Lompoc and a brother from Boston. After dinner they returned to the airport and the Crawfords took off about 10:30 p.m. The following morning, a crop duster sighted wreckage of their downed single engine craft in Cottonwood Canyon about three miles due south of Highway 41, not far from Cholame. Both Wayne, 57, and Verla, 54, were dead in the wreckage. Both of the Crawfords were qualified pilots and had logged considerable flight time. They owned two small aircraft, leasing tiedown space at the Hanford Airport and occasionally rented out the planes. Wayne and Verla were both members of the First United Methodist Church in Hanford. They were very active in the church and also in the Merriweds group and working with the Methodist youth group. They were both full of whit and enthusiasm for life. Church records indicate there were three sons: David, Donald and Dan. Dan died on November 24, 1971. They also had a daughter, Lavonne Louise, born Sept. 16, 1946 and died Nov. 23, 1946. Wayne's father was a Methodist minister.
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