Posted on 01/12/2007 4:09:47 PM PST by NormsRevenge
John Crean, the rags-to-riches Orange County multimillionaire whose Fleetwood Enterprises was one of the nation's largest manufacturers of recreational vehicles, has died. He was 81.
Crean, also known for his extraordinary philanthropy, died Thursday at his Santa Ana Heights home, Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. spokeswoman Kathy Munson confirmed Friday. Crean had been ill with heart disease.
Crean and his wife Donna traveled nationwide asking RV owners what they liked and disliked about their RVs. The ideas were then incorporated into new models.
He founded Fleetwood Enterprises in Riverside in 1950 and it was a $3 billion-a-year Fortune 500 company when he retired in 1998. Fleetwood had 19,000 workers and 18 RV and 38 manufactured housing plants in 17 states and Canada at the time.
Crean and his wife gave charities a part of whatever they made, starting with 10 percent and eventually donating half of their annual earnings. Most of the donations were made anonymously and Crean never said how much was given away.
Beneficiaries included Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, the Orange County Philharmonic Society, Opera Pacific, the YWCA Hotel for Women, the Crystal Cathedral, the Santa Ana Zoo, the Balboa Theater, the Children's Bureau of Southern California, and the Orange County Republican Party.
Crean was born in 1925 in Bowdon, N.D., and his family moved to Compton when he was 4. After serving in both the Navy and Merchant Marine during World War II, he lived with his mother in Compton.
After dropping out of college, Crean and his brother Leonard got into the trailer business and Fleetwood Enterprises followed.
Crean also fancied himself a chef. He and friend Barbara Venezia co-hosted the cable television show "At Home on the Range" from 1992 to 1998. They also published the cookbook "At Home on the Range The Cookbook for the Deranged."
Links:
http://www.fleetwood.com
He ran unsuccessfully for Congress back in the 1980's, no?
$150,000 in product per person.
RIP, Mr. Crean. What a wonderful life story ... and an iconic contribution to American culture.
Unfortunately, Mr. Crean did indeed run for the 43rd Congressional district in 1982. I say "unfortunately" because this was a blemish on Mr. Crean's career. When the House seat was created, it drew a whopping 18 entrants on the GOP side, and it was a very nasty campaign. Crean dumped a half-million dollars into the primary race (a huge sum in those days), falsely claiming he was Pres. Reagan's choice for the seat and falsely accusing other candidates of voter fraud (Michael Barone had described the feelings towards Crean as "despicable"). He won by all of 92 votes over 2nd place finisher Ron Packard. Because nearly 83% of the primary voters had preferred anyone other than Crean, Packard decided to run a write-in campaign (and had covert support of the party, though they had to publicly stick with Crean). In an upset, Packard won the general election with 37% and Crean came in last behind the Democrat with just 31% (even though he outspent Packard by 3-to-1).
In any event, one hopes his other life accomplishments outweighed his ill-advised foray into politics. May he rest in peace. Prayers for his family.
God rest his soul.
You are just a wealth of information, fieldmarshal. Interesting story.
RIP. Fleetwood is a very successful company, and Mr Crean did a lot of good with his money, unlike some of the very rich.
I hesitated on posting it, especially given that this was an obit thread, but I noted they completely omitted mentioning his run for Congress. I wonder if Mr. Crean ever genuinely regretted the tone of his campaign (though I imagine the mindset at the time was that failure to be aggressive would result in a loss, but it was well worth noting that unlike in heavily 'Rat bailiwicks, running a less-than-respectable campaign isn't well regarded by Republican voters).
Well, here's another one for your history archives. The O'Neil family that they mention is that of Richard J. O'Neill, an old democratic heavyweight who largely built Mission Viejo, CA. Now they are into helping the government amass yet more land.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1766854/posts
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