JAMES CLARENCE CRONE JR.
July 25, 1921-Aug. 12, 2013
James Clarence Crone Jr., a native and longtime resident of Goldsboro, passed away Aug. 12, at his assisted living community, Carolina House of Chapel Hill, N.C. He was surrounded by his devoted wife, children, grandchildren and caregivers. He was 92.
His funeral will be Thursday, Aug. 15, at 3 p.m. at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 204 E. Chestnut St., Goldsboro, 27534. Interment will follow at Willow Dale Cemetery.
Following the services, the family will gather for a reception at the Crone Home, 1923 Salem Church Road, Goldsboro.
His life was shaped by love of family and country, heroism, duty, hard work, great generosity, joie de vivre and a sincere Christian faith.
His devotion to his profession, to the small businessperson in North Carolina, to public education, especially at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and to St. Paul United Methodist Church was lifelong and extraordinary.
He was a huge fan of literature, especially Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen and (Thomas) Wolfe.
He enjoyed foreign travel with his wife and family for more than 50 years. He loved dancing, American history, baseball, swimming, opera, jokes, big band music, old houses, movies and his children, grandchildren and one great-grand-child.
His enthusiasm for Christmas was legendary among all who knew him.
Born July 25, 1921, he became an Eagle Scout as a boy, and graduated from Goldsboro High School in 1938. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played football.
Graduating in 1942, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Commissioned in December of that year, he achieved the rank of captain. First deployed to Panama, where he met and later married his wife, Ethel, he later joined the 6th Division, and was part of the invasion of Okinawa, Japan. He was severely wounded in action in June of 1945, for which he received the Purple Heart. He was hospitalized for many months.
While still in a cast from his injuries, he enrolled in Columbia University in New York City, where he graduated in 1946 summa cum Laude with a master's degree in accounting.
His CPA license was among the first thousand granted in the state of North Carolina. Beginning in the early 1950s, his firm, James C. Crone CPA, served small businesses and individuals in Goldsboro and other towns throughout the coastal plain, continuously growing until, in 1984, it merged with other partners to form the firm, Pittard, Perry and Crone, now Carr, Riggs and Ingram LLC.
Mr. Crone was co-founder and president of East Carolina Estate Planning Council and director of North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. He served on the Board of Visitors of the University of North Carolina, and endowed a lectureship in taxation and accounting at the University of North Carolina School of Business. He was also chairman of giving for the University of North Carolina's class of 1942 for many years.
He contributed to the Goldsboro community in numerous capacities: He was a member of the city Board of Education during desegregation, and later, was a member of the board of directors of Wayne Community College.
He was a chairman of the United Way and the Wayne County chapters of the Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. He also served as chairman of the board of New East Bank.
His family members have been active in St. Paul United Methodist Church for several generations. Mr. Crone served on its board of directors, was active in all facets of stewardship and was a teacher in the Sunday school, both at the junior and adult levels. He remained a generous supporter and sustaining member of the church all his life.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Ethel M. Crone, nee Ethel Margaret Donnelly of Brooklyn, N.Y.; his children, Laurel Sneed, her husband Charles Sneed, of Durham, N.C., their children, Gillian Sneed, of Brooklyn and Ryman Sneed of San Diego, Calif., Moira Crone and her husband, Rodger Kamenetz, of New Orleans, La.; his granddaughters, Anya Kamenetz of Brooklyn and Kezia Kamenetz of New Orleans; his granddaughter, Liliana Donchik of Brooklyn; and his great-grandchild, Luria Berenzweig of Brooklyn.
He is predeceased by his eldest daughter, Dr. Anna Lisa Crone, previously of Chicago, Ill., and his grandson, Asher Kamenetz.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the library at his beloved University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These may be sent to James C. Crone Jr. Library Fund, University Development Office, P.O. Box 309, Chapel Hill, N.C., 27514-0309, attention: Peggy Myers, contact pmyers@email.unc.edu.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.seymourfuneralhome.com.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on August 13, 2013 1:48 PM