Chad Alan Crandall passed away on July 21, 2026 at his home in Arcata
at the age of 48 years old.
He
was born on January 13, 1978 in Portland, Oregon to Donna and Ronald
Crandall. He was the youngest of three boys. They moved to Willits in
1980, when Chad was two years old. He attended elementary school in
Willits, where he enjoyed playing youth football and hanging out with
his best friend, Jake.
His
family moved to Humboldt County in 1990, when he was 12 years old.
Chad attended school in McKinleyville and graduated from
McKinleyville High School in 1997. After graduation he worked at
Pacific Clears Mill in Arcata. Then he went on to work at Hensel’s
Hardware in Arcata. He worked there for six years.
While
working at Hensel’s he met Jody. They were married August 26, 2000
and welcomed their first son, Jacob Alan, in April 2004. Chad was a
volunteer in the Arcata Volunteer Fire Department, where he enjoyed
going on fire calls and helping others. He started working at the
City of Arcata on the public work maintenance crew in the summer of
2004. They welcomed their second son, Jarren Paul, in August 2008.
Chad worked at the City of Arcata for 21 years before medically
retiring in May 2024.
Chad
enjoyed fishing and hunting in his early years. One of his favorite
hobbies, though, was drag racing. He loved to watch the local drag
races at Samoa as well as going to Sonoma to watch the NHRA races. He
spent a few years helping on his friend Kyle’s drag racing team.
His
boys were very important to him. He loved watching them play sports
and enjoyed helping coach Jarren’s football team. He enjoyed taking
them fishing, taking trips to the beach as a family and going
camping. He will be truly missed by our family.
He
is preceded in death by his mom and stepdad, Donna and Bruce Muckley,
his father, Ronald Crandall, and his brother, Scott Slater.
He
is survived by Jody Crandall, their sons Jacob and Jarren Crandall,
his brother Eric Crandall and his niece Shayna Crandall and nephew
Evan Crandall, his nephew Cody Slater, his aunt Debbie Bergen, her
husband John and his cousins Josh Dussor and Chance Lokkin, his uncle
Bill Reitman, his wife Christine and cousins Brian and Ben Reitman,
his best friends Jacob Shull and Daniel Rasella and numerous other
nieces, nephews, family and close friends.
We
will have a celebration of life on Sunday September 20, 2026 at 11
a.m. at Azalea Hall in McKinleyville.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Chad Crandall’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.