ROCKLAND — Kennedy Crane III, of Rockland, passed away on July 1, 2016, at home, surrounded by loving family. His death followed a brief struggle with acute myeloid leukemia, which in his last days he met with graceful acceptance.

Ken was born in Skowhegan on Oct. 22, 1939, the first of four children of Kennedy Crane Jr. and Henrietta Nay Page. The family moved to Rockland in 1951, when Ken's father began work at Senter Crane Inc., a five-floor department store on Main Street established by Ken's grandfather, Kennedy Crane Sr.

Ken III graduated from Hebron Academy in 1958, attended Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisc., and graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. Among his fellow graduates was his future wife, Susan Goodridge, of Rockport.

Ken and Sue had begun dating in college — he introduced her to sailing and skiing — but after graduation Ken found work at Britt's Department stores in Ellsworth and Corning, N.Y., and Sue moved to Los Angeles. They kept in touch through letters.

By mid-1966 they had both returned to Maine — Ken joining his father at Senter Crane and Sue teaching school in Southwest Harbor. They married on Feb. 18, 1967, in Rockport. During their honeymoon, Ken took Sue to hear the opening bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, a unique preamble to their 49 years of marriage. The couple settled in Rockland, where they raised two sons, Jonathan and Galen.

In 1979, Ken took a brief leave from Senter Crane and the family moved to Philadelphia while Sue studied landscape design at Temple University. As an irrepressible retailer, he found work in a small woodstove shop thanks to a passion for wood heat discovered during the 1970s energy crisis. Upon completion of Sue's degree, they returned to Rockland.

After 28 dedicated years, Ken sold Senter Crane in 1994 and retired. Two years later, he and Sue — along with Judy, their beloved yellow Lab — completed a seven-month through-hike of the Appalachian Trail, along the way making numerous good friends who knew them as "Hoss and His Dog and Pony Show."

Ken's financial acumen and commitment to the Midcoast community led to his involvement with many nonprofit organizations. With his conservative, sober approach to the balance sheet, he helped keep them on firm footing. It is almost impossible to catalog all of Ken's civic connections, but some of his longest-running and those of which he was most proud are the Good Tern Co-op, Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland Public Library Endowment Association, Merryspring Nature Center, Rockland Cemetery Association, General Henry Knox Museum (Montpelier), Herring Gut Learning Center and Oyster River Tennis Club.

Ken's love of baseball, skiing, sailing, canoeing and other outdoor pursuits permeated much of his life and continues in his children and, much to his delight, his grandchildren. Ken was also an avid tennis player, forging many great friendships through the sport, especially later in his life.

He was an assiduous follower of the stock market beginning in his late teens, with many friends in two investment clubs: Bulls and Bears, and STUDs (Stock Traders Under Duress). The psychology of equity investing was a source of endless fascination to Ken, and he was never happier than when researching some small-cap stock no one had ever heard of.

He passed away on a Friday at 4 p.m., on the closing bell in New York.

Ken was predeceased by his parents; and his beloved brother, Edward. He is survived by his wife, Susan; and his sister, Trudy, both of Rockland; his brother, Tobey (Candice) of Ketchum, Idaho; his two sons, Jonathan (Erica) of Camden and Galen (Cali Brooks) of Lake Placid, N.Y.; and four grandchildren, Louisa, Isabel, True and Maisie Crane; plus many dear cousins, nieces and nephews.

Family and friends are invited to visit on Thursday, July 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St. in Rockland. A memorial service will be held Friday, July 15, at 5 p.m. at Owls Head Transportation Museum, 117 Museum St. (Route 73) in Owls Head.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Ken's memory may be sent to the Farnsworth Art Museum, 16 Museum Street, Rockland, ME 04841, or the Rockland Public Library Endowment Association, P.O. Box 18, Rockland, ME 04841.