Dale Crites

He was born April 26th, 1924 in Sydney, OH to Bessy and George Crites. He married Hope Charlotte Thezelius on October 2nd, 1953.

He is survived by 3 sons, Dan (Amy) Crites of East Lansing, MI, Tom (Jennifer) Crites of Okemos, MI and Jim (Amy) Crites of St. Johns, MI; one daughter, Julie VanderGalien (Lisa) of Lansing, MI; nine grandchildren, Matt, Alison, Catherine, Josh (Pam), Zac, Haley, Anna, Allie and Emily Crites.

Dale’s wife, Hope, and one daughter, Sara Crites Whitman, preceded him in death.

Dale was a long time resident of Okemos, MI where he had lived since 1963. He graduated from Ohio University in 1948 after a stint in the Army Air Corp during WWII and was very proud to be a Bobcat. He took a job with General Electric Lamp Division upon graduation and was assigned to a territory based in Hartford, CT. There he reconnected with some Phi Kappa Tau fraternity brothers and they taught him how to ski. This began his long love affair with skiing.

Dale was approached by the Day-Brite Lighting Company about joining them as a manufacturers’ representative. At that time, there were two territories available, Florida and Michigan. In that Dale knew he wouldn’t get to do much skiing from Florida, he chose Michigan. While skiing at the Caberfae Ski Area in Cadillac, MI, Dale met Hope. This began their long association with Caberfae, the Caberfae Ski Club and the Cadillac community. Special Cadillac friends include the Claypools, the Dahlquists, the Woodburys, the Smiths, the Marshs and many more.

Dale’s skiing history is long and varied. He became a Professional Ski Instructor in 1964 and taught his family and many friends how to ski. He was the CUSSA Region 3 Chairman for a number of years. Later in life, he took up ski racing and won the NASTAR Nationals for his age group at age 80. He also volunteered and worked two Winter Olympics and several World Cup races.

Dale started bicycling seriously at age 60. He rode his bicycle all across the Midwest and Colorado, as well as parts of Canada and Europe. He averaged 4000 miles a summer on his bike. He rode the DALMAC numerous times, the last at age 85. Many thanks to Denny and the gang at Central Park Cycle for helping keep Dale on the road for all of those years.

Dale started Crites and Associates, Inc. in 1952. In 1985, he helped to form Crites, Tidey and Associates with partner and friend, Bob Tidey. Crites, Tidey and Associates quickly became one of the largest lighting manufacturers’ representative agencies in the State of Michigan and one of the top agencies in the country.

Anyone that met Dale knew he had an A+ personality. He was a born salesman and loved people. He leaves many friends in many places.

Per Dale’s request, there will be no services. He asked that donations be made to the American Cancer Society( http://www.cancer.org/ ) or the Macular Degeneration Foundation( http://www.eyesight.org/ ) in lieu of flowers.

The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Sparrow Hospital for their support in his final days.