GREENWOOD
John Bryan Crump Jr., longtime resident of Greenwood, passed away Saturday, May 14, 2016, at Greenwood Meadows Senior Care Center. He was 92 years old.
A member of the Greenwood Volunteer Fire Department since 1957, Mr. Crump rose in the ranks to captain. His exciting and educational fire safety presentations were well-known among community groups and local schools where he was better known to students as “Captain Crunch.”
He received certifications from the Indiana State Commission on Fire Fighting Personnel Standards. He was also certified as master firefighter on tactics, instructor 1st Class and for fire prevention.
He retired from the department as an active firefighter in 1979, after which he compiled a history of the Greenwood Volunteer Fire Department, and was named with six others as a life member of the Greenwood Volunteer Fire Department.
Mr. Crump was employed by the Indianapolis Ford Motor Co. plant, where he also volunteered with the Ford Fire Brigade. He was a member of UAW local 1111.
An avid outdoorsman since his membership in the Boy Scouts and Sea Scouts in Indianapolis, Mr. Crump hiked sections of the Appalachian Trail, from Springer Mountain in Georgia, to Roanoke, Virginia, as well as hiking the B&O Canal Trail from Cumberland, Maryland, to Washington, D.C. and many trails in Indiana state parks and state forests.
He was a member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Wilderness Society, the American Legion and American Merchant Marine Veterans. He was also affiliated with the Indiana Fire Fighters Association and The National Fire Prevention Association.
He was a proud veteran of the U.S. Merchant Marine, where he sailed in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Mediterranean and Red seas during World War II.
Mr. Crump was pre-deceased in 2003 by his wife, Betty Jean (Berry) Crump; and by brothers James Byron Crump and Robert Lee Crump, and his sister, Buda Mae Cacciato.
He is survived by his brother, Leonard Crump of Fishers; his children, John B. Crump III of Martinsville, Cynthia S. Richey of Atlanta, Georgia, and Carter B. Crump of Lexington, Kentucky. He has three grandchildren, Dana (Crump) Garcia of Greenwood, Jennifer (Richey) Williams of Winder, Georgia, and Bryan E. Richey of Atlanta, Georgia; and three great-grandchildren, Winston Williams of Winder, Georgia, Isaac (Jack) Garcia and Maricela Garcia.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at Wilson St. Pierre Funeral Service and Crematory, Greenwood Chapel, 481 W. Main St., Greenwood. Visitation will be from 1 to 3 p.m. at the funeral home. Cremation will take place.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Greenwood Fire Foundation, c/o GFD Headquarters, 155 Main St., Greenwood, IN 46142, or through PayPal.
