George E. Crone, Jr.

George E. Crone Jr., 78 passed away peacefully with his family at his side on April 15, 2016. He attended Central High School and Memphis State University, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was a long-time member and elder at Buntyn Presbyterian Church; the owner of G.E. Crone Monument Company of Memphis and Jackson Marble Company in Jackson, TN. Examples of his work exist all over Memphis and the South, with some of his most notable being the Statue of St. Francis at St. Francis Hospital, the Jefferson Davis statue and the Tom Lee Park obelisk. He had served as President of the Tennessee Monument Builders, director of National Monument Builders of America; a distinguished member and later president of the American Institute of Commemorative Arts. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Memphis State University and served as president of the MSU Alumni Association. Mr. Crone served as board member and later President of Elmwood Cemetery’s board of trustees, member and past president of the East Memphis Exchange Club. After retirement Mr. and Mrs. Crone traveled extensively all over the world. During these trips he was able to pursue his passion of fishing. He was an avid fisherman and was a member of Southern Bass Angler Association and the Tennessee Bass Angler Association; out of all his fishing expeditions his most favorite was fishing at Tunica and Sardis with his son. In the late eighties he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, despite his diagnosis he continued to live a full and active life, only letting this slow him down the last few years. He was a wonderful loving family man who enjoyed spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his parents, George Edward Crone, Sr. and Margaret Self Crone. He leaves behind to cherish his memory, his wife of 57 years, Alma Barnes Crone; daughters, Kelley (Jimmy) Johnson of Brentwood, TN; Luanne (Bill) Johns of Memphis; son, George E. “Tad” Crone, III of Memphis; four grandchildren, Kelcie (Jake) Craft, Leah (Austin) Powell and Olivia and Isaac Johns; sister, Margaret “Peggy” Crone and a brother, James Self Crone, Sr.

Services for Mr. Crone will be conducted Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 10 o’clock in the morning at Memphis Funeral Home Poplar Chapel; the family will receive friends for one hour prior to service time. At the conclusion of chapel services the family will receive guests for the sharing of stories, refreshments and memories in the Life Remembrance Center of Memphis Funeral Home from 11 o’clock until 1 o’clock in the afternoon. A procession will depart Memphis Funeral Home at 1 o’clock in the afternoon traveling to historic Elmwood Cemetery where Mr. Crone will be laid to rest. Willy Bearden said of Mr. Crone during his filming of a documentary on Elmwood, he looked at me with the most sincere face and said “I dearly love the cemetery.” Mr. Crone was a man with deep knowledge and deeper compassion, who lived his truth and shared his goodness with all those who were fortunate enough to know him. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory may be offered to the Church Health Center or Memphis Young Life.