George Chester Crandlemire, 93, of Meridian, formerly of Sun Valley, Idaho, and Honolulu, Hawaii, has left this world to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on April 8, 2023.

George was born on May 18, 1929, in Portland, Maine, to Helen and Howard G. Crandlemire.

Our dad was truly one of a kind and led an extraordinary life. After graduation from high school in Portland, he worked operating heavy equipment, earning enough money to buy the Harley Davidson that would take him on his solo journey out west to California in 1951. On the way there, he took a detour to Sun Valley, then a newly minted ski resort, where he fell in love with skiing. He took to the sport with great enthusiasm and natural ability, becoming an accomplished racer and instructor. While there, he also learned to fly single-engine airplanes from a friend, and in exchange, taught the friend to ride motorcycles. He became a ski instructor at the Sun Valley Ski School, as well as at Alta, Utah.

As fate would have it, a bad snow year in Sun Valley took him to Alta, where he met Joy Simmons of Palo Alto, California, who was also working there that winter at the Peruvian Lodge. They were married in 1959, and made their home in Tustin, California, where Scotty and Lisa were born. It was there that George became a licensed real estate agent, employed by a development company that immediately saw great potential in him.

In 1964, they put their full faith in him to oversee their interests in Hawaii and moved the young family to Honolulu via the SS Lurline. His immediate success there catapulted him in the real estate business and before long he became a broker and developer himself. He went on to become a broker in Idaho as well, creating Mountain Vistas, Inc., which enabled him to work and play year-round. Being self-employed gave him the freedom to do the things he loved, most importantly, skiing at Sun Valley and riding motorcycles. As he would often tell us, “Make a plan and work it," and he practiced what he preached.

After George and Joy divorced in 1974, George continued his “Program," (another George-ism) with Scotty and Lisa, dividing their time between Hawaii and Idaho, spending fall and spring in Hawaii, summers at their ranch in Fairfield, and winters in Sun Valley.

In 1991, he married Barbara Dial, of Houston, Texas. They had a life full of adventures, and together they traveled far and wide, including a trip to the Holy Land where he was baptized in the Jordan River. They swam in the ocean off Diamond Head, skied at Sun Valley, and went on many breathtaking motorcycle trips together, making their home at Elkhorn in Sun Valley before moving to Meridian in 2015.

George is survived by his wife, Barbara; son, Scotty Crandlemire, of Meridian; daughter, Lisa Hotchkiss (Stuart), of Boise; brother Roger Crandlemire, of Meridian; seven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and former wife, Joy Crandlemire, of Aurora, Illinois. He is preceded in death by his mother, father, brothers Ted and Eric, and sister, Jean Denison.

The family wishes to thank the many friends and neighbors that took the time to help Dad at home, and for lending a hand to us when it came time to move him. A very special thank you to his care team at Keystone Health and Hospice.

A celebration of life is being planned for later this summer in Ketchum—details to follow.