Richard B. Craney

Richard Bellaire Craney, 94, of Bartow, passed away Monday, May 2, 2011 at home. A native of Watertown, SD, Mr. Craney moved to Bartow from Orlando in 1950. He was employed by the United States House of Representatives from 1936 to 1938 and the U.S. General Accounting Office from 1938 to 1942. He served in the United States Navy during World War II in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters of Operation. He attended the University of South Dakota, Georgetown University and Emory University and was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He built and was co-owner of three Daytona Beach motels: The Sands, Tropical Shores and Blue Waters, and was executive vice president of Hendricks Cobb Properties which developed three subdivisions in Orlando. He built 500 houses in Bartow subdivisions, including Bellaire Heights, Bellaire Park, Sunset Park, Hackl Lake & Richland Manor. He was founder and president of Bartow-based Bellaire Homes, Inc., Craney Industries, Inc, Imperial Lumber Company, Inc, Precision Fabricators, Inc. and Ridge Rentals, Inc. He was founder and chairman emeritus of Ridge Pallets, Inc., (now PalletOne) and was co-founder of Sun Belt Forest Products, Inc. He was a member and a director of the Bartow Chamber of Commerce and a member of the board of directors of the Polk County Industrial Committee and the Bartow Kiwanis Club. Under his guidance as chairman of the Kiwanis Key Club Committee, the Bartow High School Key Club in the 1950's and 1960's became the most decorated Key Club among the 4,000 clubs in Key Club International. He was chairman of the board of directors of the Polk County Guidance Center and the Mental Health Center of Polk County. He was a member of the board of directors and vice president of the National Wooden Pallet Association and Bartow Federal Savings and Loan Association, and member of the Polk County Advisory Board of Florida Federal Savings and Loan. He was a member of the board of directors of the Insurance Company of the South and Polk County Builders Association and a member of the Bartow Board of Realtors. He was a member of the board of directors of the United Way of Bartow and served as chairman for Bartow's first United Way Fund Drive. He was chosen by the Bartow Lions Club as Bartow's Outstanding Citizen for 1965. and in 1980 was appointed an honorary citizen of South Dakota by then Gov. William J. Janklow. In 2010 the Bartow Chamber Committee of 100 presented him the Champion's Cup Hall of Fame Award He is preceded in death by is brother John Craney. He is survived by his wife of 49 years: Ivanhoe Holland Craney; step-son: Gus King of Troy, AL; two step-daughters: Mary Holland Skinner of Jacksonville, FL and Clemmie King of Stockton CA; sister Joan Stein of Watertown, SD. Family will receive friends Friday, May 6, 2011, from 5-7 pm at Whidden-McLean Funeral Home, 650 E. Main Street, Bartow. Funeral service will be held Saturday, May 7 at 11 am at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Bartow Wildwood Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Visiting Nurse Association FoundatioN, 1733 E. Memorial Blvd, Lakeland, FL, 33801.