Senate Web Site photo
By Lyle J. Rapacki
This Saturday, August 9th, 2014, I will have to say, “Good-bye” to a friend who just happened to be a real-life cowboy, as well as a real-life Arizona State Senator. When the sun sets this coming Saturday our Arizona State Flag will not shine as bright; the red and yellow rays which represent the original thirteen colonies in our Republic and also represent the beautiful sunsets for which Arizona is known will be a little duller, a little less vibrant. One of Arizona’s Favorite Sons has died, and with the last rays of the beautiful Arizona sun sinking in the west so will the last drops of tears be sliding down the cheeks of those who knew the cowboy and the senator – Chester Crandell.
Senator Chester Crandell was a fifth-generation rancher who loved the dirt of Arizona, as much as the people and the state itself! I enjoyed the privilege of working with him quietly and behind the scenes these past three years on a number of issues related to the safety and sovereignty of our Great State of Arizona, and her people. Many hours of private meetings, private telephone conversations, meals, and even traveling somewhere alone in a vehicle…you get to know a person well after hundreds of hours over three years! Chester Crandell never took himself seriously, but studied hard and took his position as a legislator seriously. He faced the mounting challenges coming to our state with the same determination as he did herding his cows (and herding is not for the faint-of-heart). Many times on his way to the senate floor or to Chair the Senate Committee on Public Safety, where serious issues awaited, he would grin at me and say, “I’m just a country boy.” He was a country boy, and a cowboy who loved riding the range bringing in his herd. I spent the day with him just a couple of months ago on his ranch as another State Senator snapped the photo above of Chester bringing in his herd for branding; he even had me the “City Slicker” being a real cowboy! He was a man who vigorously studied and then defended the rights and traditions of rural Arizona private property owners, ranchers, businesses, industry, the beauty of forests and high deserts, the rocks and mountains, and all that contributes to make Arizona still a rugged and beautiful place in which to live, much like other Favorite Sons of Arizona: Barry Goldwater, Carl Hayden, Sam Steiger, Bruce Babbitt, Mo Udall; they all had in common a respect for the land, and the nurturance of the same along with the enjoyment of all that God gave us through natural resources.
Chester Crandell believed he was a servant of the people, someone honored to have passing time at the State Capitol in which to leave a legacy, to make a difference for the good of Arizona, not be there to build a resume or maneuver for self-interest. “Service above Self” is the motto of a famous civic organization, but that statement also reflected the values in this man’s heart, captured in his daily attitude and telegraphed for all to hear in his public speeches. The senator gave up time with his family, he withstood the long 5-hour trips back and forth from the capitol, surrendered privacy we as citizens take for granted, missed community activities and traditions for official meetings in Phoenix, and the list goes on but I never heard him complain. He saw a moment in time that he could make a positive difference, and he went for it! So very many of us are still shocked that his moment was over far much sooner than any of us would have liked. I know his truly lovely, funny, and gracious wife, Alice, along with his wonderfully kind nine children have feelings that flow much deeper than any of us who shared the public side of this man with them.
Senator Chester Crandell saw himself as a simple country boy, and in ways he was just that. But he was also so very much more. Arizona truly lost a highly educated man who stood to defend our wonderful state from those who would just as soon rob us of our heritage as a sovereign western state. Senator Crandell could be called a cowboy in the truest and dearest terms of the west. But he also earned the privilege of being called, “Sir.” After a very long, hot, and dirty day working cattle with him on his ranch, Chester Crandell grinned when I called him a fellow cowboy. I also called him “Sir…Mr. Chairman…Senator.” I shall deeply miss this cowboy. I shall deeply miss this senator and true servant of the People of Arizona. Good-bye, Sir!