CARY, N.C. – Kennedy Crane Jr., 102, formerly of Owls Head, died peacefully Feb. 16, 2015, at his home here.

Born Aug. 23, 1912, in Boston, Mass., he was the son of Kennedy and Mittie Lawrence Crane. After moving to Rockland with his family in 1926, he graduated from Rockland High School in 1930 and was a graduate of Bowdoin College in 1934, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

Following graduation from Bowdoin he worked for three years with WT Grant Company, assigned to stores in Dayton, Ohio, Pittsburg, Kan., and Oklahoma City, Okla.

In 1937 he bought the H.P. Ordway Store in Skowhegan, and while there, served as president of the Chamber of Commerce, and in 1942, as president of the Rotary Club.

In 1938 he married Henrietta Nay Page of Skowhegan.

From 1943 to 1946, he served in the United States Naval Reserve, during which time he attained the rank of lieutenant junior grade. He served two years at Pearl Harbor.

In 1951, he returned to the Rockland area to join his father in operating the Senter Crane Co., a retail department store, retiring in 1984.

Always involved in the community, Mr. Crane served many years as a trustee of the Knox County General Hospital, as well as two years as president of that board. He later served on the board of directors of Penobscot Bay Medical Center, as that new facility became a reality. In addition, he served on the boards of the Rockland Savings Bank, Maine National Bank of Rockland, and the Camden and Rockland Water Company. While in Rockland, he was a longtime member of the Rockland Congregational Church. In retirement, well into his 80s, he enjoyed volunteering for Meals on Wheels delivering hot meals to clients.

On Dec. 28, 1967, he married Annie W. Allen in Rockland.

Mr. Crane was predeceased by his first wife, Henrietta, the mother of his children; by his son, Edward; by his wife, Annie; by his brother, Robert; and a step-son-in-law, Guy Busa. He is survived by his brother, Lawrence; two sons, Kennedy Crane III and his wife, Susan, of Owls Head, and Tobey Crane and his wife, Candice, of Ketchum, Ind.; and his daughter, Trudy Crane of Rockland; four grandchildren, Jonathan of Camden, Maine, Galen of Lake Placid, N.Y., Tony of Ashland, Ore., and Kimberly of Leesburg, Va. He is also survived by a stepdaughter, Sue Allen Busa of Cary, N.C.; nine step-grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and 17 step-great-grandchildren.

A summer memorial service is being planned for the Rockland area and will be announced at a later date. Private interment will be at Achorn Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Meals on Wheels, 46 Summer St., Rockland, ME 04841, or Pen Bay Healthcare Foundation,
22 White St., Rockland, ME 04841.