Nancy Tate Cranford

Nancy Tate Cranford, daughter of Mary Jane and Bill Tate, quietly passed away at home on the morning of January 16th. She is survived by her two sons, Rob Neighbors and Dave Neighbors and his partner, Carrol Garriffa; three grandchildren, Will, Pia, and Macy; and three great-grandchildren, Vaeda, Henry, and Jude. She was preceded in death by her older brother, Joe Tate, and has one surviving younger brother, Dan Tate of Bakersfield, CA.

Nancy was born in Kansas City, Missouri on December 7th, 1940. She moved with her family as a child to Sheridan, where she formed many deep friendships and happy memories.

Some of her fondest memories occurred during her high school years. She was a cheerleader for the Sheridan Broncs and involved in several high school organizations. One of the highlights was attending Girl’s State and being elected to represent Wyoming at Girl’s Nation in Washington D.C.

She attended Colorado Women’s College in Denver and transferred to the University of Wyoming, majoring in Speech and Drama. Later in Sheridan, she was involved in establishing the Civic Theater Guild and continued acting in and directing plays.

She married Tom Neighbors in 1962, and they had two sons, Rob and David.  She later married Bud Cranford, and they shared over 30 happy years together before his death in 2016. Nancy and Bud lived in several locations, including Park City, Utah; Bellevue, Washington; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Billings where they made many lifelong friends.

At the age of 45, Nancy took up painting and developed her talent over the years to create many beautiful paintings. She even won some awards. No services are planned at this time.   Online condolences may be made to www.sheridanfuneral.com. Arrangements are under the care of Sheridan Funeral Home.