Tornado victim will be remembered as leader

Allen Crandy was a leader.

In eight years he worked his way up from the bottom rung of the ladder at Renaissance Management Inc. to lead crews that set up conventions and shows across the nation.

The father of an autistic child, Crandy was president of Families for Effective Autism Treatment and fought passionately for the rights of all disabled children.

Crandy, a native Las Vegan, died Wednesday when debris from a rare Utah tornado struck him in the head while he was supervising the set-up for the Outdoor Retailers convention in Salt Lake City. He was 38.

An autopsy was scheduled for today. Crandy's body will be returned to Las Vegas where Palm Mortuary will handle the arrangements.

"He was a super guy to be around -- I never heard him say a negative thing about anyone," said Danny MacDonald, general manager for Renaissance Management Inc. on Valley View Boulevard.

"People had a lot of respect for him. Allen worked his way up from the bottom by having a good general knowledge of his work and a great attitude."

Crandy had skipped lunch Wednesday to make sure the booths were properly set up.

It was such dedication to detail that made Crandy a significant voice locally in the fight to treat autistic children.

During the last Legislature, Crandy and his wife, Jan, were key figures in support of Assembly Bill 280, which made it illegal for institutions to control disabled children, including those suffering from autism, by physical means such as spraying them in the face with water or forcing them to do sit-ups.

Autism is a condition characterized by little or no speech, eye contact or affection displayed toward others and inappropriate or odd behavior.

After reading medical studies that found that constant therapy could reach a child, the Crandys formed an organization that advocated intensive and expensive therapy, including flashcards, matching cards and photos for every imaginable object and emotion.

Crandy's nonprofit organization provides nearly two dozen local and regional families access to autistic research and information, the cards for the intense therapy and support.

"You've got to get down in their face until you reach them," Allen Crandy said in an Oct. 6, 1998, Sun story, noting that his autistic daughter, Megan, underwent 40 hours a week of such therapy. "She's never been in the school district. We've had her the whole time. That's the difference."

Crandy spent his own school career in the Clark County School District, attending Ruby Thomas Elementary School for kindergarten, Rex Bell Elementary, the old Booker Sixth Grade Center, Cashman Middle School and Clark High School, from where he graduated in 1979.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Crandy is survived by another daughter and a stepson. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.

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