William Carey Crane Jr. ’51

The class lost an outstanding saltwater sailor when Bill Crane of Gulf Stream, Fla., died Jan. 20, 2004, of cancer.

Bill was the son of the late Brig. Gen. William Carey Crane '13. He attended the American School in Japan while his father was military attache to the American ambassador there, graduated from Deerfield in 1945, and served in the Army during World War II before coming to Princeton, where he majored in history, played varsity lacrosse, and joined Ivy Club. He roomed with David Green, John Rae, and Robert Shaw.

During the summers he was secretary of the Quissett Yacht Club in Woods Hole, Mass., and after graduation went into investment banking. An avid sailor, Bill was a veteran of 17 Newport-to-Bermuda races, and was a member of the Cruising Club of America and the Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club.

He leaves his widow, Mary Stair Crane; six children, Mrs. James Webert, William Carey III, Michael Riggs, Mrs. Ben Graham, Mrs. C. Whitney Tile, and Mrs. George Yandell; his sister Martha Crane Gruson; and 12 grandchildren.

The Class of 1951