Obituary of John M. Crandall

Jack Crandall, "the piece of work" passed away September 22, 2021 with family at the home he so loved on the hill overlooking Elmira, New York. He was predeceased by his parents, George Wells Crandall and Marion Lownie Crandall. He is survived by great friend Barbara Park, sister Elizabeth (Betsy) Crandall Mohseni (Sia), children Lauriann Kloppenburg (Bill), Ann Wells Crandall, John Crandall (Barbara), Amy Durlach (Peter) and friend, "the children's mother" Nancy Jo Crandall. He is also survived by grandchildren Alexandra Kloppenburg, Jessica Kloppenburg, Meryl Crandall, John Brooks Crandall, Natalie Durlach and Sydney Durlach. They broke the mold with Jack when he was born on October 31, 1933 in Elmira, New York. He graduated from Hendy Avenue School, EFA High School and Lehigh University with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, where he also was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Jack loved life and his friends and family. He was devoted to Elmira and even living in beautiful Hawaii in his 20's could not stop him from returning to Elmira where he spent most of his life. He worked for accounting firms Peat Marwick and Touche Ross after college. He then worked for Hilliard Corporation in Elmira before starting his own accounting practice that continued throughout his life. He was extremely hard working and would always say "If you are going to do something, put everything into it and do it right". As a boy, Jack became very fond of the family's island in Honey Harbour, Ontario, Canada. He enjoyed swimming, fishing and taking his grandfather's boat out at night while the family was sleeping. It was here that his love of ducks started and he explored the Finger Lakes and any waterway wherever he traveled to see and feed them. He was a member of Ducks Unlimited throughout his life and enjoyed duck paintings and artwork. From an early age, Jack was drawn to sports. He was a lifelong New York Yankees fan and enjoyed watching them every night. He became a fervent University of Kentucky basketball fan as a young boy listening to the Adolph Rupp lead Cats on the radio when his parents thought he was sleeping. Jack combined this passion for sports with his love of numbers, statistics and his photographic memory to become the go-to-person on sports trivia. As Director of the minor league AA Elmira Pioneers baseball team in the 1960's, he kept detailed statistics on each of the players and how they matched up against opposing teams, pitchers and batters. He helped Earl Weaver in Elmira and Baltimore make decisions on best player and pitcher match ups using the analytics he developed, which was a precursor to the analytics commonly used in baseball today. Many of the players and coaches on the team became friends and stars on the great Baltimore Orioles teams during the late 1960's and early 1970's. Jack supported them and enjoyed attending World Series games during those years, but Jack never wavered from his loyalty to his Yankees. Jack loved the outdoors, land and the privacy that came with it. He really enjoyed the exercise and accomplishments in caring for and mowing his lawn and creating many paths for his kids, family and the animals to enjoy. He really liked to dress up and wear snazzy clothes and could be found with wild checked or plaid pants and sport coats at times. He never wanted to be caught under-dressed while visiting friends or out on the town in his Lincoln Continental. He enjoyed fine dining and loved jazz music. This lead to many nights dancing and enjoying music at Green Pastures and at Pierce's Restaurant. He was a member of the Elmira City Club for 57 years and really enjoyed the camaraderie and friendships with all at dinners, the 5:00 club, Saturday lunches and stag events late into the night. As he always said, what better place could there be besides Elmira, New York, its "top drawer". Family and friends are invited to McInerny Funeral Home, 502 W. Water Street, Elmira, on Friday October 8, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held at Park Church, 208 W. Gray Street, Elmira, on Saturday, October 9, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. A private family burial will take place immediately following at Woodlawn Cemetery. Those wishing to remember Jack with a donation may do so to Tanglewood Nature Center and Museum, 443 Coleman Avenue, Elmira, New York 14903, or https://www.tanglewoodnaturecenter.wildapricot.org. The family wishes to express its sincere thanks to all of the people that helped care for Jack, especially those that devoted time to get to really know Jack which provided great comfort to him and the family.