John C. Crean - Businessman, philanthropist
Friday, January 12th, 2007
In 1999, when Builder magazine published its list of the most influential industry leaders of the 20th century, on the list were the likes of William Levitt, Frank Lloyd Wright and John Crean.
Crean, the founder of Fleetwood Enterprises, was a pioneer in the travel trailer business who built his company from a maker of Venetian blinds for travel trailers to a $3-billion-a-year enterprise that dominated the industry for many years.
One of Crean’s passions was the well being of children having contributed millions of dollars to children’s charities. Crean and his wife, Donna, lived on a 4-acre estate based upon “Tara” of “Gone With the Wind” fame that itself was an opportunity to perform charitable acts. They lived in a 4-room apartment and left the rest of the mansion and estate to support nonprofit fund raisers.
John Crean was not one to rest on his laurels though. In the 1990s John Crean and his friend Barbara Venezia co-hosted a cable-TV cooking show called “At Home on the Range.”
John Crean died on January 11, 2007 of congestive heart failure at his Newport Beach, CA home at age 81.
Read John Crean’s bio
Visit the Home On The Range website
Popularity: 19%
