05/28/2024
Richard “Kranny” Krantzman, my SAE Brother, has passed away. Kranny made dinner at him for me and few other SAE Brothers just over a month ago. God Bless Richard Krantzman. Phi Alpha, Gary
From Tom Woodard:
Richard Krantzman my lifelong friend, has passed away from this life. He was the first person that I met when I entered the SAE Fraternity house in 1975, and he was the same fun, kind and cool to the bone person for as long as I knew him. His smile and his focused interest on anyone he spoke to were attributes he manifested his whole life. He was an authentic person, something that seems increasingly rare in this world.
I was able to stay at Richard's house a few weeks ago, and we hung out and laughed and remembered our war stories from years past. When I put in an organic raised-bed garden in my yard in Pacific Beach, CA, he liked the idea so much that he planted his own just a few blocks down the street. He was a great drummer, and stayed playing in rock bands on the side for most of his life. He served for over 20 years as an usher at Humphrey's on the Bay, San Diego Harbor so that he could always hear the famous bands that came there to play. He collected and sold musical instruments on the side for many years, and everyone who dealt with him enjoyed his impeccable integrity and attitude.
When I was 20, Rich and I went on a summer road trip to Lake Tahoe that we remembered and laughed about for 45 years. I had an old 1955 F100 pickup truck, which seemed like just the vehicle to misbehave with, and off we went with scanty supplies and big attitudes. The weather, music, white water rafting with some sorority women from the Alpha Phi house and hiking the back canyon of Fallen Leaf Lake were epic. What wasn't epic was when my transmission gave out on the return trip just South of Sacramento. We had to push the truck for nearly a mile to a mechanic's garage, closed because it was Sunday. We then took our bags and walked another mile to a Freeway offramp, as we had decided to hitch-hike and needed to get down on the Freeway to do this. A crisis presented itself, however, when we had to make an important decision about what to do with the baggy of w**d that Rich had in his sock. In 1976, it was a serious crime to be caught with that amount of green, and we decided to play it safe. Rich emptied the baggy into the wind, and we dejectedly walked down the ramp to the side of the freeway. Hitch hiking was way more common back then, for any younger friends that read this. Anyway, we put out our thumbs, and less than two minutes later a van driven by two very attractive mid-twenties aged women stopped and picked us up. We put our gear into the van, relaxed into two custom captain chairs, and had not made it down the road but a couple of miles when one of the pretty women turned around and asked us, "So, would you guys like to smoke some w**d with us?". We laughed so hard at the irony when we heard this. Rich told me that we "should break down more often". Anyway, it turned out to be a great drive, with good music and two wonderful women, who dropped us off at the door of my parent's house in La Canada near LA, pretty stoned and very happy!
Rich was a groom in my wedding in 1979, and stayed close to both Teresa and I for our whole lives, even after we split. Our fraternity had a precept about becoming a "True Gentleman", which had been written in the 19 century and hence may sound like a dated concept to many readers, yet Richard Krantzman was one in every way. He was a beautiful person, and a wonderful man. I will always count myself lucky to have been connected to him.
Richard developed pancreatic cancer in his twenties. He overcame this disease after an extended struggle, but the radiation treatments had damaged his heart. His heart finally weakened to the point where he could no longer be with us, and he passed away from this life on Sunday. RIP my friend. I will miss you greatly!
