Richard L. Crane

Newport, RI - Richard L. ?Dick? Crane, 80, of St. Clare Home Newport, formerly of Cannon Street, Newport and Seaman?s Institute of Newport, died Thursday, November 25, 2004 at Newport Hospital Newport, RI.He was born in North Kingstown, RI on August 1, 1924.Mr. Crane ran the newsstand in the lobby of the Newport Post Office on Thames Street, Newport for 50 years, retiring in 1998. He was a graduate of the Perkins School for the blind and participated in the student reading programs at the Newport Elementary Schools, day care centers and the public library. He was a an active honorary member of the Kiwanis Club of Newport and a member of the Lions Club, the Knights of Columbus 4th degree General Rosecrans. Dick was a communicant of St. Marys Church in Newport and a member of their choir and also served as a cantor. He served on the Governors Advisory Council for the Blind for 12 years and served as chairman for 9 years. He is survived by two brothers Robert Wilcox of New York City, NY, and Fred Wilcox, a sister Dorothy Walsh of Ashville, NC, and many nieces and nephews. He was the brother of the late Thelma Wilcox. His funeral will be held on Wednesday, December 1, 2004, at 8:00 AM from the Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport, with a Mass of Christian burial at 9:00 AM in St. Marys Church, Spring Street, Newport. Burial will be in St. Columba Cemetery in Middletown.Donations in his memory may be made to the Perkins School for the Blind, 175 North Beacon Street, Watertown, MA 02472.