Frank Crews Jr. ’55

Frank, a most agreeable classmate with long records of civic involvement and of running so extensive that he could have circled the Earth on foot, died Sept. 12, 2021, in Santa Fe, N.M., of a heart condition.

Frank was born June 2, 1933, in Amarillo, Texas, and attended Amarillo High School. At Princeton he joined Cap and Gown, majored in history, and participated in IAA touch football, softball, and track and field. His senior-year roommates were Dick Heckard and Chuck Ege. One of his favorite Princeton memories was seeing Albert Einstein walking down Nassau Street, eating an ice cream cone and chatting with students. 

After Princeton Frank served as a captain in the Marines until 1960. He then earned a law degree and worked with several law firms before retiring to his adobe dream home in Taos, N.M. 

He was an inveterate joiner and leader of groups devoted to well-being. In the class 50th-reunion yearbook he listed eight such groups, and there were many more after that. 

Frank reached his two main running goals in life: the Boston Marathon, which he ran in 1985, and enough marathon racing (20 events) and training miles to run the circumference of the Earth (24,901 miles). 

Survivors include Barbara, his wife of 43 years and former mayor of Galveston, Texas; son Christopher; daughters Candace and Catherine; three granddaughters; and brother Paul.