Francis "Mac" Corcoran McCrane, Jr.

Francis “Mac” Corcoran McCrane, Jr., 89 years old, of Newport News, VA passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 at York Nursing and Rehabilitation in Yorktown, Virginia.

A third generation of Irish immigrants, Mac was born March 9, 1934, in Passaic, NJ to the late Francis Cyril McCrane and Catherine Eleanor Corcoran McCrane. Francis Cyril McCrane was President of the Francis C. McCrane ~ Plymouth & Desoto Dealership in Passaic NJ.

Mac spent his childhood years in Passaic & Clifton, NJ, and at his family's summer residence in Mantoloking, NJ. He graduated in 1951 from Montclair- Kimberly Academy, Montclair, NJ, and entered the University of Vermont. Mac graduated in 1956 with a commission in the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant. In August 1956, he married Sarah Dodge Williams of Dunkirk NY, daughter of MacLeod and Sarah Elizabeth (Goldsmith) Williams, and deployed to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Over the years, the McCrane family was stationed in Lubbock, TX, Fayetteville, NC, Okinawa, England, and Hampton, VA. As a career Air Force officer and Command Pilot, Mac served 2 tours in Viet Nam, 1962 and 1969 respectively, and was credited with 108 Combat missions. He flew several aircraft including the RF-4, F-100 and C-123. In 1973, Mac joined the Air Force Tactical Air Command at Langley Air Force Base, serving out his Air Force career as a Lt. Colonel. Following his Air Force retirement, he was the Executive Director and CEO of the USO Hampton Roads for over 10 years, and resided in Poquoson, VA from 1977 to 2018. During this time, Mac was active in a variety of charitable organizations, continued his insatiable daily reading habit of many interests, and volunteered for several years as a technical expert/docent at the Hampton Virginia Air and Space Science Center & Museum. He also enjoyed volunteering his time teaching elementary children World Geography and English for the ones that needed special tutoring. Mac also sponsored a family that escaped Iraq, and helped them settle into life in America.

Mac and the late Sarah Williams McCrane, who died in 2018, are survived by their sons Michael McCrane of Potomac Falls, VA and his wife, Carolyn (Sable), and Michael’s children, Brett, Kyle, and Meagan; Timothy McCrane and his wife Kelly (Hutchison) of Virginia Beach, VA and their children Erin and Ryan: Christopher McCrane of Virginia Beach, VA and his wife, Wendy Lou (Costello) and their son, Thorin. Mac and Sarah's son, Jonathan McCrane, died in 2005, South Lake Tahoe, CA.

Mac's sister was Catherine Judith (McCrane) Keating, who died in 2014 in Fernandina Beach, FL. She is survived by her husband, Joseph Michael Keating, Jr., and their children, Kate (Keating) Frazier of Jacksonville, FL, and Michael Francis Keating of Fernandina Beach, FL.

Also surviving Mac is his sister-in-law, Julia MacLeod Williams of Denver, CO, his nephew, T.M. Boggs of Bluffton, SC; his niece, Elizabeth MacLeod Boggs of Denver, and his nephew, Garratt Boggs Williams of Dalton, GA.

Francis “Mac” Corcoran McCrane, Jr. will be sadly missed by his family and friends.

A memorial service and interment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. Online condolences may be sent to Claytor Rollins Funeral Home & Crematory, Poquoson, VA - (757-868-6641). https://www.claytorrollins.com/listings

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