Francis Paul Dunston (aka Cranpa)

5/1/1930 – 11/15/2024    94 years on this Earth

Francis was born May 1, 1930 to Ella Viola (Hopkins) and George Fielding Dunston in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He left us after 94 years on this earth. He had to go to a neighbor’s house to find a radio so he could listen to Joe Lewis beat Max Schmeling in 1938, beginning a long career of boxing that saw him competing on the USS Toledo during the Korean War. He grew up raised by a single mom but was active in boxing, band, football, choir, baseball and basketball as a young man. He worked at Pioneer Printing in high school and was a proud member of the Pressman’s Union, eventually becoming a journeyman. He even used the offset press in Gillette to help produce the News Record.

Fran wed Nancy Oleta Johnson upon his return from Korea and they had 63 wonderful years together, raising three daughters. He completed his first degree in Business Administration on the GI Bill from UW (GO POKES) and then decided to leave printing for teaching, first helping his students master typing, shorthand and business at Campbell County HS in Gillette and then, after earning his Master’s Degree in Data Processing from CSU, he taught at Casper College. He began in the era of key punch cards, COBAL and FORTRAN with DOS-green letters on a black screen and lived to see the advancement of the personal computer (8KB RAM and 5“ floppy disks), cell phone (he only advanced to a flip phone) and color TV (great for watching football, basketball, baseball while another game played on the radio). He saw the 78 vinyl record replaced by 33 1/3, 8-track, cassette tape, CD and finally streaming music over the internet. He loved to sing, participating in several choirs over the years and played the harmonica with a local blue grass band, even in the production ‘Big River’ at the college.

Fran’s time in the navy left him with passion for watching waves along the Oregon coast and trolling for trout in his boat on Alcova while drinking Coors. He loved taking friends and family through Alcova Canyon, the last time in 2020 just as beautiful as the first, 1969. He loved to go for a drive, especially up Casper Mountain, listening to birds and watching sunsets. He read the paper every day and loved to discuss politics, but even greater joy was had with a grandkid on his lap reading a ‘cranpa book’. We all can see him playing his harmonica around a campfire in heaven, watching the embers fade.

He took early retirement and really enjoyed traveling with Lee. They spent winters for 35 years at Roadrunner Retirement Community and traveled the world…..many trips to Hawaii, China, Spain and Portugal, Italy (St. Francis Basilica) then Bosnia and Croatia cruising the Adriatic, Australia and New Zealand, Germany, Austria, England (St. Dunstan’s Chapel) and Ireland, Alaska’s inland passage and the Caribbean…. Always returning for Christmas caroling with friends and family; hot homemade Tom & Jerrys and warm hugs, as we sang along with Mitch Miller the “12 Days of Christmas” finishing off at each house with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.

Francis is the father of 3 daughters: Valerie (Bill) Otto of Belgrade MT, Pamela (Jeff) Frazier of Laramie, WY, Chris (Paul) Duncan of Arvada, CO, grandfather to 11, great-grandfather to 6. He was preceded in death by his wife Nancy Oleta (Johnson) Dunston, his mother and father Ella Viola (Hopkins) & George Fielding Dunston, his younger sister Betty Jean McIntyre, and his older brothers Edwin and Harold Dunston. We are planning a celebration of his life in February.