IN MEMORIAM
PHILIP MAGAN CRANE
June 6, 1908 - February 27, 2004
On February 27th Recovery folks everywhere suffered a great loss with the passing of Phil Crane. Except for Dr. Low himself, perhaps nobody is more important to Recovery's development and history than Phil, who was one of our real pioneers. Phil had been ill off and on for the past six years, but that does not diminish the shock of his passing. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him and his influence will be felt for many years to come.
Phil met Dr. Low when he was a patient at the Psychiatric Institute of the University of Illinois Medical School. At that time he was profoundly ill, and Dr. Low was not certain he could help him. It was when Phil regained his mental health that Dr. Low coined the phrase, "There is no hopeless case." As Phil improved Dr. Low began to ask for his help with various tasks. Phil was one of those who took the Recovery Method to patients on the wards of the Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Low writes in Mental Illness, Stigma and Self-Help that Phil believed Recovery should include current patients, not just recovered patients.
Once Dr. Low developed the panel example outline, Phil was the first person trained in its use as a Group Leader. He eventually was hired by Dr. Low as Director of Leader Training, and he traveled extensively, training leaders so that Recovery Inc. could grow and expand. In the years after Dr. Low's death in 1954, Phil was one of the folks who worked so hard to keep Recovery Inc. moving forward. For many years, it was Phil Crane who read the roll call of states at each Annual Meeting in Chicago.
His widow, Maxine, would welcome expressions of the memories people have of Phil. She can be reached at 1175 Regency, Bloomington, IN 47401. She has also indicated that she would be happy to see memorial donations made to Recovery, Inc. A memorial tribute to Phil is being planned for the Recovery, Inc. Annual Meeting on Saturday, May 29, and the next issue of The Reporter will include a retrospective of Phil’s life and legacy. Please send your memories of Phil and tributes to him to Headquarters, or use the special online Forum on the Recovery website to post a memory or tribute.
