Vivian May Crawford

Vivian May Crawford went to be with her Lord and Savior on Monday, September 11, 2023, after a courageous battle with brain cancer.

Vivian was born April 25, 1940 to Lester and Cora Hendrickson, at home, delivered by her grandmother, in Manhattan, Montana.  When she was 2 ½ years old, she caught scarlet fever and was hospitalized for six months.  She had to learn to walk again and to compensate for hip and hearing trouble the rest of her life, as a result.  Her mother taught her to how to be strong and overcome these obstacles, so she enjoyed a full life, graduating from Twin Falls High School in 1958 and completing a year of college at the University of Wyoming at Laramie, Wyoming.

Her early years were spent traveling with her family as her father worked with the rodeos.  They worked in the fields of Idaho and loved to hunt and fish in the South Hills.  After her year of college she returned to Twin Falls, where she worked as a waitress and met John Nussbaum, whom she married in 1960.  They were blessed with two daughters, Coreena and Kaleen.

She was a wonderful wife, mother and homemaker, as well as dispatcher and bookkeeper for their business, Johnny’s Towing Service.  She and John divorced in 1980.

In 1986 she began her career with Twin Falls County in the DMV Driver’s License department.  A couple of years later Sheriff Jim Munn promoted her to be his Chief Civil Deputy.  When he retired, she served faithfully under Sheriff Wayne Tousley, earning many awards and certifications until her retirement in 2001.

She married Harry Bodenstab in 2000, and they enjoyed nine years together traveling, spending time with their children, grandchildren and many friends.  Harry passed away in 2009. 

In 2010, she married Raymond Crawford. They enjoyed many trips together including a cruise to Alaska, as well as spending time in Arizona and Montana with good friends.  Ray passed away in 2021.

Vivian was an amazing and loving mother, grandmother, sister and friend.  She loved to sew, and made all of Coreena and Kalee’s dance costumes, bridesmaid dresses and even her own wedding dresses.  She knitted and crocheted and cooked for her family, and sent them wonderful gifts of her handiwork.  She also remodeled her home with her own power tools, maintained beautiful roses and loved and cared for every stray animal that showed up or her kids left with her.  She was a strong woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer.  If she wanted something done, she figured out a way to do it and in her last years, her faithful grandson, Lonnee, helped with whatever she needed done.  Grandma Viv adored her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She was a faithful friend and had many, some from her early school years, that she kept in close contact with, making phone calls daily to get updates and give encouragement.

Vivian is survived by her daughters, Coreena Long of Twin Falls, Kaleen (Michael) Mikesell of Medford, Oregon; grandchildren Raechel (Bradley) Charlton, Lonnee Long, Candra (John) Slape, Tyler Mikesell, Jordan Mikesell and Cody Mikesell and great grandchildren Stella, Lindy, Patrick and Oliver, also John’s children Marlon (Stacy) Nussbaum, Marvin (Gail) Nussbaum and Sharon Elison; Harry’s daughter Autumn Bodenstab; and Ray’s children and grandchildren, of which she was so grateful for Shannon and Kenny Hodges’ family and how good they were to her. She is also survived by her sister Virginia Hansen, brother Don (Paulette) Hendrickson and sister-in-law Susie Hendrickson.  She was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, brothers Lyle “Sonny” and Jim Hendrickson, her son-in-law Jeffrey Long and stepson Stewart Bodenstab.

Her family would like to give a special thanks to her wonderful friends that visited her often throughout her illness as well as Visions Home Health and Hospice for their excellent care.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, September 16 at 2 p.m. at Twin Falls Cemetery with Rosenau’s Funeral Home handling the arrangements.  In lieu of flowers a donation may be made to Rosenau’s to help the family with funeral expenses.