Harold L. Crane ’40

Harold Crane died June 13, 2013, at Valle Verde Retirement Community in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Harry was born March 26, 1918, in Elizabeth, N.J., and came to Princeton from the Pingry School. From Princeton ROTC he went directly into the Army Field Artillery as a second lieutenant, retiring as a captain four and a half years later.

Harry moved to Princeton in 1946 to join the   College Board, which evolved into a job at the Educational Testing Service (ETS), where he became director of operations. In 1948, Harry married Elizabeth Curtis. Princeton was their home until his retirement from ETS in 1982, when they moved to Santa Barbara.

Chess, which Harry played since he was 13, was his favorite leisure activity. In his freshman year at Princeton he won the Ivy League championship; in 1984 he won the 47th Grand National Correspondence Chess Tournament, and he was playing and teaching until about two weeks before his death. Bridge ran a close second to chess. Harry held classes for fellow retirement residents, and wrote a book on his bidding system that targeted the intermediate player.

Harry is survived by Elizabeth; sons Bruce and Gordon; two grandchildren, Michelle Saremi and Steven; and one great-grandchild, Maia Saremi.

The class is grateful to Elizabeth Curtis Crane for writing this memorial for Harry.