Clara Pauline (Crawford) Landers

Clara Pauline Crawford Landers, two months short of 95, of Van Horn, Texas, passed away Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, in Farmington. She was born Jan. 13, 1921 in Locust Grove, Mayes, Okla., to William Clarence (McKinnon) Crawford and Churbia Opal Vaughan. She was a very intelligent woman and as a young child won district and state for several IQ tests. She married Clinton Crawford of Trinidad, CO and became widowed very shortly after having two sons, Robert W. Crawford, and Ronald D. Crawford. She moved to Oakland where she became head of the Ship Departments in Richmond, CA during World War II and in 1944, met her second husband, Johny Carl Landers, who was serving in the Pacific War of WW II, and married in 1945 in Oakland, Calif. The union produced two more children, William L. Landers and Marilyn J. Landers. On April 25th, 1945 she attended the convention founding the United Nations in San Francisco, and soon after moved to Texas. In 1957, she was appointed Post Master by Dwight D. Eisenhower. In the 1960s John Connally appointed her three state commissions: The Fine Arts and Cultural Commission, The Business and Industrial Commission and the Texas State Historical Commission. She became very instrumental in one of the ten Texas Heritage Trails becoming dedicated. Eventually, she was elected to office as Culberson County's first County Auditor. During the beginning of her terms she discovered corruption with several of the politicians in her area, who attempted to dissolve her office. With her own resources, she fought and eventually took them to the Supreme Court where she won and became responsible for several laws being passed in Texas. Over the years, she performed missionary work in Mexico, mainly helping with public relations and teaching dry farming. During this time she wrote for several newspapers and magazines, one of which, the EL Paso Times, named her a Woman of the World in the International Woman's Year of 1975. She enjoyed the fact several of her articles made international news. One article involved a missile misfiring from White sands. She attended negotiations with their top personnel, a general of Mexico, and had a personal interview with the general himself. In her civic duties in Van Horn she became a member of The Order of the Eastern Star. She served twice as the Matron, remaining a member for over fifty years. She was a member of the Ocotillo Garden Club and vice director of District IX of Garden Clubs, which included El Paso. She then served as director of Van Horn's Chamber of Commerce. She was personal friends with Congressman Richard C. White and his wife, the cousin to Lady Burg Johnston, and kept many of their corresponding letters. She knew many of the governors of Texas in her time, including John Connally, the governor shot with President Kennedy. Eventually she retired as Post Master and moved to Farmington, to witness the lives of her grandchildren, but of course it was not in her nature to settle down. She then volunteered for the Echo Food Bank for more than 20 years, spending 11 years as a Senior Volunteer where she referred to those younger than her, as "old" and volunteering for many years at San Juan College. In regards to her character, she was a politician, who was much more than what she seemed. She valued all things, including 20-year old grocery receipts, QVC, and canned food. She believed cardinal transgressions included several of the most recent presidents, corruption, Obama Care, and throwing out several-year-old expired food, which she most fervently believed was "still good." Some of her great-grandchildren will always remember trying to keep her on the straight and narrow when she drove as she had a tendency to veer into oncoming traffic. Clara also possessed all her teeth, of which getting up in the middle of the night to clean was always an option and she still had her driver's license, as both facts will no doubt will be engraved on her tombstone, for they had prime importance. For those she left behind: She left a stunning example that not only men could be successful at many things, that one does not get old and stop moving even at 80, and that faith and love for God and family should have prime importance in one's life despite what one accomplishes. A vacuum will be felt by those who cherished her for many years to come, and who despite leaving this life, showed by example that despite the hardships we endure one can be successful despite those trials and live a life full of memories, presence, and character that will be with us, engraved in our memories and hearts, despite that she is gone. Clara was preceded in death by her parents: William C. Crawford and Churbia "Ma" Vaughan; her brothers, James W. Crawford and Wayne Crawford; her first husband, Clinton Crawford and her second husband Johny Carl Landers; her three sons, Robert William Crawford, Ronald Dean Crawford and William Leroy Landers. She is survived by her sister, Mary Jo Jones (Oklahoma), her daughter Marilyn Jo (Landers) Hutchins; her grandchildren, Julie A. Montaño (Tony), John W. Hutchins (Ardell)(Colorado), Steven Crawford ( Holly) (Texas), Rhonda Di Martino (Steve) (Colorado) and Keith Crawford (Chrystal); her great-grandchildren, Casper (McDaniel) MacDhé�mhnaill, Angela Hutchins, Tyler Montano, Jake and Autumn Crawford, Dalton Di Martino, Kailie, Savana and Trevor Crawford (WA); her great-great-grandchildren, Colby Hutchins and Kaydence and Cameron Valencia. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, at Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home in Farmington. Burial will follow in Greenlawn Cemetery, 1606 N. Dustin Ave. in Farmington. Pallbearers are John Hutchins, Keith Crawford, Casper MacDhé�mhnaill, Tyler Montaño, Steve Di Martino and Tony Montaño. In lieu of flowers, donations are to be made to Echo Food Bank. Clara's care is entrusted to Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home, 103 E. Ute St. in Farmington, 505-325-8688.