Fund created for children of victim of tornado

Friday, Aug. 13, 1999 | 9:58 a.m.

A memorial fund has been set up for the three children of Las Vegan Allen Arvis Crandy, the lone person killed in Wednesday's tornado in Salt Lake City.

Donations can be made to Account No. 0274227016 at NorWest Bank, according to Crandy's employer, Renaissance Management Inc.

Crandy, 38, worked as a lead man on crews that set up conventions and shows for Renaissance. He was killed when hit in the head by flying debris while working during his lunch hour on displays for the Outdoor Retailers convention, which began today in the Utah capital.

Crandy, the father of an autistic child, was president and co-founder of Families for Effective Autism Treatment, where he fought passionately for the rights of all disabled children.

Services for the native Nevadan are pending and are being handled through Palm Mortuary. His body was scheduled to arrive tonight from Salt Lake City.

Born July 8, 1961, in Henderson, Crandy was a 1979 graduate of Clark High School and a veteran of the Army.

He had been working for Renaissance Management for eight years.

Crandy and his wife of 13 years, Jan Crandy, co-founded FEAT. They became a strong voice locally in the fight to treat autistic children.

During the last legislative session, the couple were key figures in support of Assembly Bill 280, which made it illegal for institutions to use physical means such as spraying disabled children in the face with water or forcing them to do sit-ups to control them.

The Crandys' nonprofit organization advocates intensive and expensive therapy for autistic children, including use of flashcards, matching cards and photos for every imaginable object and emotion.

Autism is a condition characterized by little or no speech, eye contact or affection displayed toward others or objects and inappropriate or odd behavior.

In addition to his wife, Crandy is survived by a son, John Paul Saunders; two daughters, Megan and Jeni Crandy; his mother and father, Carol and Ned Crandy; a brother, Ned Crandy, all of Las Vegas; and three sisters, Debbie Farnsworth and Pam Ebel, both of Las Vegas, and Kathy Bollinger of Oregon City, Ore.