Floyd L. Crank

Floyd L. Crank, 97, Professor Emeritus, Northern Illinois University, passed away Saturday, February 25, 2017 at Wesley Willows. He was the son of John and Ludie (Harty) Crank and was born December 27, 1919, at Puxico, Missouri. He married Doris Howell in 1955 at the Presbyterian Church in Winnebago, Illinois. Floyd served as a pilot with rank of Lieutenant Senior Grade in the US Navy from 1942 to 1946. He received his bachelor’s degree at Southeast Missouri State University at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and his master’s and doctorate degrees from Northwestern University in Evanston.
His first year of teaching was in a one-room school in Missouri, followed by teaching at Bradley High School, Bradley, Illinois; New Trier Township High School, Winnetka, Illinois; and at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. During the last 15 years of his teaching career, he was full professor in the College of Business at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. During his teaching career, he held Visiting Professorships at San Francisco State University and at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Following his retirement from NIU, he taught as Visiting Professor at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas; Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona; and at the University of Wisconsin, at Madison.
Professionally he served as president of state, regional, and national organizations. For several years he was active in the International Society of Business Education where he served on the International Executive Board and attended several annual meetings in Europe.
Floyd was the author and/or editor of several professional publications and was the author of numerous professional articles for state and national publications. He enjoyed his church activities including singing in the church choir and serving on various church committees.
Dr. Crank received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Vocational Association, the Illinois Vocational Association, the Illinois Consumer Education Association, the Illinois Business Education Association, the North-Central Business Education Association, the Alpha Phi Chapter of Delta Pi Epsilon, and the Northern Illinois Business Association. In addition, Floyd received the Excellence in Teaching Award at Northern Illinois University and the prestigious John Robert Gregg Award for distinguished service to Business Education in the United States.
Survived by his brother, Robert (Reta) of Poplar Bluff, Missouri; sister, Carolyn (Gordon) Martin of Wentzville, Missouri as well as several nieces and nephews and numerous other relatives and friends. He is preceded in death by his loving wife, Doris, parents, sisters, Jeanette Arnold, Lorene Lawton, Betty Schmidt, and Shirley Richardson and brothers, John, James, Ray and Don.
Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, February 27, 2017 at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, Riverside Chapel, 3910 North Rockton Avenue. Funeral service will be at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 4055 North Rockton Avenue. Burial in Willwood Burial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Good Samaritan Fund of Wesley Willows or to Aldersgate United Methodist Church. To express online condolences, please visit: www.fitzgeraldfh.com.