John Crawford Pogue Jr. ’38

Crawf died Jan. 31, 2005, following a brief illness.

Crawf prepared at Cincinnati Country Day School, Hotchkiss, and Choate. At Princeton he majored in English, earned a letter in track, and was a member of Cottage Club and the Glee Club.

In World War II, as a captain in the Army Air Corps, he helped establish the Air Sea Rescue Forces. He was wounded on a rescue mission and received a Presidential Unit Citation with four battle stars.

Postwar, he returned to Cincinnati to work in his family's department store where, as vice president and division manager, he created branch stores and helped the business grow to become one of the Midwest's premier retailers.

Divorced from his wife, Helen, in 1959, he married Martha Dunn and moved to California, where he worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and began to pursue his passion for painting, eventually becoming recognized throughout the area for his unique portraits. Crawf also was active in many community activities and was considered a renaissance man.

He is survived by Martha, his five children, a stepson, 16 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, to all of whom the class extends its deepest sympathy.

The Class of 1938