Cheryl Arends Crandell

Cheryl Arends Crandell, age 83, a longtime resident of Storm Lake, Iowa, passed away on Thursday, September 17, 2026, in Boise, Idaho.

Cheryl Arends was born on January 10, 1943, in Norfolk, Nebraska, to Nick F. and Lou Ann(Peppel) Arends, and baptized on April 25, 1943.During her early years, she lived in Spencer, Nebraska; Chamberlain, South Dakota; Loveland and Greeley, Colorado; and Deadwood, South Dakota, where she graduated from high school.While in elementary school, she aspired to become a band director after seeing a female band director lead a marching band down a town parade route. Inspired, she began piano and voice lessons in middle school and took up the clarinet in high school. The summer in between high school and college, she auditioned for and was accepted to travel to Europe in the first School Band of America tour.

Cheryl received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of South Dakota.She also completed graduate coursework in Music History and Literature there and at the University of Northern Iowa.

On August 1, 1967, Cheryl was united in marriage to Martin L. Crandell in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Her teaching career included positions at Eastwood Community Schools in Correctionville, and at Marcus Public Schools in Iowa. When the family relocated to Storm Lake, Cheryl established herself in the community as a vital pillar in music education; she taught private lessons and directed chamber ensembles at Storm Lake High School and actively helped build the band program. Additionally, she served as adjunct faculty at Buena Vista College for several years and worked as a substitute teacher at many Northwest Iowa schools for over forty years. During retirement, she worked part-time at Ray’s MidBell Music and continued teaching private clarinet and other woodwind lessons in the Siouxland area.

Music was a lifelong passion for Cheryl. She was a member of the Iowa Bandmasters Association (serving as the state historian from 1984 until 2009), the Northwest Iowa Bandmasters Association, and the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education. She shared her talents performing on clarinet with the Siouxland All American Band; the Cherokee Symphony; the Storm Lake, Spencer, and Sioux City Municipal Bands; the Karl L. King Band during their winter seasons in Fort Dodge, Iowa; and the Iowa Bandmasters Association Retired Directors Band in Des Moines, Iowa. During her career, she was recognized with numerous honors, most notably the Northwest Iowa Bandmasters Association Distinguished Service Award (Retired) and Jay Wicker Award, and the Iowa Bandmasters Association Karl King Distinguished Service Award (Retired). 

Community involvement was equally important to Cheryl. She was an active member of P.E.O.,the Buena Vista County Historical Society, Questers, and the Siouxland Archival Consortium.

She also served as a lay reader and vestry member at Calvary Episcopal Church in Sioux City,Iowa, and All Saints Episcopal Church in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Cheryl is survived by her five children: Margaret Crandell Dredla (Tom) of Scottsbluff, Nebraska; Terri Crandell Eberly (Jim) of Red Cloud, Nebraska; Steve Crandell (JoAnn) of Lincoln, Nebraska; Christopher Crandell (Alisa) of Johnston, Iowa; and Mary Crandell (Myron Peterson) of Boise, Idaho; and one sister, Mary Parker (Keyron) of Rapid City, South Dakota.She had twelve grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren, and several nieces and cousins who were all important to her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Nick and Lou Ann Arends, and her beloved husband,Martin L. Crandell.

There will be a Celebration of Life on May 15, 2027, 2:00 p.m. at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, West Des Moines, Iowa.

In lieu of flowers, send charitable donations to the University of South Dakota Foundation—Martin L. Crandell Music Endowment. Gifts to the endowment will honor the legacy of Cheryl Crandell, who started this fund in memory of Martin L. Crandell and his love for music.

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