Kaeden Scott Crank, 18, of Hutchinson, passed away Wednesday, April 8th, 2026, at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis, Wichita. He was born on July 6th, 2007, in Wichita, Kansas.
Kaeden graduated from Nickerson High School in May 2025. During his time at Nickerson High, he was a part of the cross-country and baseball teams. Recently, Kaeden had started working at Wendy’s. He was always excited to get to work. Kaeden was blessed to have the opportunity as he had many side jobs growing up and enjoyed working hard.
He loved not just playing sports but also watching them with his family. Kaeden was a huge football fan and loved cheering for the Texas Longhorns and Las Vegas Raiders. You could usually see him wearing some sort of gear to represent his favorite teams. Whenever Kaeden wasn’t watching football, you would normally catch him watching his favorite movie, ET. He had a collection of items from the movie that he loved to show off to anyone who asked. Kaeden also loved to build numerous items out of his Lego collection. You always had to ask him before you touched any of it because he made every Lego exactly how he wanted it to be. You may have had to wander to the basement to find him playing video games or making movies on his tablet with his nephew, Jacob. He could also frequently be found cuddling on the couch with his favorite blanket and one of his three beloved dogs (Cooper, Izzie, and Chucky). During the warmer months, you would only find him outdoors, however, playing catch with his siblings or riding his bike around the neighborhood. If you couldn’t find Kaeden in any of these places, you could definitely find his writings of “Kaeden was here” plastered all around the house. He also had a very unique sense of humor, which was mainly just sarcasm, but it brought a smile to a whole lot of faces.
Kaeden attended Crossroads Christian Church and had a strong connection with the Lord. He loved listening to worship music and reading his Bible whenever he got the chance. Kaeden would always share daily Bible verses across his social media pages. He loved to spread the word of God. His family meant everything to him and they felt the same. He made sure to give love to anyone who was in his life. Kaeden was also an advocate for Shaken Baby Syndrome. “Shaken Not Broken” was a self-made documentary Kaeden had recently been working on. He was very proud of his documentary and was so glad people would be able to hear his story. He always made sure to spread awareness to a syndrome that was not often talked about.
Kaeden is survived by: his two loving parents, Rich and Kathy Crank of Hutchinson; siblings, Alexis Crank, Raeshawn Crank, J.T Crank of Hutchinson, Heather (Beau) Harding of South Hutchinson, Jessica (Adam) Zongker, Becky (Jamie) Wolfe, and Seth Maxwell all of Hutchinson; nieces and nephews, Chloe (Christian) Perez, Hannah (Korbin) Snesrud, Sophia Corwin (London Lafayette), Abby Corwin, Drew Zongker, Jacob Chesney, Emma Zongker, Abel Zongker, Liam Wolfe, and Lottie Zongker; along with numerous aunts and uncles who all loved him dearly.
Kaeden is preceded in death by aunts and uncles; his grandfathers, Earl Crank, Howard Giles, and Jay Hovious; and grandmothers, Esther (Mae) Hovious and Delores Giles.
Funeral service will be 2:00 p.m. Friday, April 17, 2026, at Crossroads Christian Church, 4310 N. Monroe, Hutchinson, with Pastor Kevin Guffey officiating. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery, Hutchinson. Family invites friends to a reception following the burial at Crossroads Christian Church, Friday. Friends may sign his book from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting Friday, until the day of the service, at Elliott Mortuary. The casket will remain closed.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to National Association of Shaken Baby Syndrome, in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.