Charles Crane
Charles (Charlie) Crane’s courageous life ended on November 29, 2017 surrounded by family. Charlie was born in 1936, spent his childhood in North Tonawanda, New York and graduated from high school in Redwood City, California, where he was known to occasionally sneak into Stanford stadium to catch a football game.
Charlie returned to the east coast for college, graduating from Cornell University in 1958 where he was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. During college he met Stephenie (Stevie) Dilworth and they married in 1960. Charlie and Stevie first made their home in San Francisco, then in 1962 moved to the Bellevue neighborhood of Newport Hills where they raised four children. Charlie enjoyed playing tennis, running 10K races, and joining his friends for pickleball. He was a stickler with the rules during backyard games of croquet (some would say he made up the rules …).
Charlie had a long career in the financial services business, first at Fireman’s Fund Insurance in San Francisco, and then for over three decades at Marsh & McLennan insurance brokerage in Seattle where he rose to Senior Vice President before retiring in 1997. At his retirement party colleagues referred to him as “the Jimmy Stewart of the insurance business,” reflecting his integrity and kindness that inspired the loyalty and trust of coworkers and clients alike.
In 2013 upon Stevie’s death, Charlie moved to a retirement community on Mercer Island. There you could find him sparking a discussion at Current Events, enjoying his many new friends, and sometimes joining a group of Newport Hills dads (now granddads) for coffee. Charlie was admired in his later years for his amazingly positive attitude despite significant physical challenges.
Charlie was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Louise Crane, and his wife of 53 years, Stevie. Charlie is survived by his brother Bill, his children and their spouses, Susan (Bob), Charlie (Kathi), Debbie (Bert) and Betsy (Jim), and his five-in-a-row grandchildren: Nick, Paige, Charlie J., Melina and Max.
Memorial service will be held Thursday December 21, 2017 at 11 am, at St. Madeleine Sophie Church, 4400 – 130th Place SE, Bellevue. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to a charity of your choice.