After the jump, the official Trammell Crow obituary sent to local media today. But first, this information concerning services scheduled for Monday:
A public service will be held on Monday, January 19, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at Highland Park United Methodist Church, located at 3300 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas 75205. If interested in doing a memorial, persons may consider The Margaret and Trammell Crow Chair for Alzheimer's and Geriatric Research at Southwestern Medical Foundation, 2305 Cedar Springs Road, #150, Dallas, Texas 75201.The photo above was taken by our Web editor, Patrick Michels. The statue sits across the street from Unfair Park HQ, in front of the recently refurbished Parkland Hospital that is now home to Crow Holdings.
CROW, Trammell, died at the family's farm in East Texas on January 14, 2009. Crow was a loving husband, father and grandfather as well as a pioneer in the field of commercial real estate development both in Dallas and around the world. He was born June 10, 1914 in Dallas, Texas.
He was the fifth of the eight children of Jefferson and Mary Crow. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1932. He worked his way through school at the American Institute of Banking and at Dallas College, the evening division of Southern Methodist University. Crow passed the Texas CPA exam in 1938 and accepted a position with Ernst & Ernst as an auditor.
In 1940, Crow joined Smith, Morrison and Salois, the city's leading accounting firm at the time, where he specialized in tax work. With World War II looming, he applied for and was accepted for an officer's commission in the U.S. Navy where he put his auditing skills to work in Washington, D.C. and later throughout the Southwest where he was in charge of Navy audit teams that worked with various defense contractors.
By 1944, he earned the rank of commander in charge of cost inspection for the Eighth Naval District in New Orleans. Crow married the former Margaret Doggett in 1942 and returned to Dallas in 1946, when his Naval assignment was completed. Crow went to work with the Doggett Grain Company where he would stay until 1948 when, at age 33, he began his legendary career in real estate. Crow quickly progressed by designing and building space specifically tailored to his clients' needs - a novel concept at the time.
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Crow and partners, which included John Stemmons, Dallas' legendary business and civic leader, would go on to construct more than 50 warehouses with more than 2 million square feet of space to become the largest commercial builder in the Trinity River Industrial District.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Crow developed the major merchandise marts of Dallas, including the Dallas Design District, Dallas Trade Mart, Dallas Market Hall, Dallas Apparel Mart and World Trade Center. The Dallas Menswear Mart was finished in 1983, and the Infomart followed in 1984. While the Dallas Market Center may stand as the most conspicuous of Crow's many developments, his buildings, and thus his imprint, can be found across the nation and around the world.
Other significant Crow developments located in Dallas include the Anatole Hotel, Medical City, Trammell Crow Center, Bryan Tower, KPMG Centre and Pioneer Plaza. Other significant Crow developments located elsewhere include commercial properties in Brussels, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Miami, Washington, D.C., Houston, Atlanta, Kansas City and Minneapolis, among many others. Among Mr. Crow's many real estate accomplishments, he founded Trammell Crow Company, Trammell Crow Residential and Wyndham Hotel Company.
He and wife Margaret were avid travelers who particularly enjoyed collecting art during their excursions around the world. Crow developed an appreciation for Asian art through numerous trips to the Orient for business. In 1998, the Crow Family made it possible for everyone to share their love of Asian art by dedicating the Trammell and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, a permanent museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas.
Crow is survived by his loving wife, Margaret, six children: Robert, Howard, Harlan, Trammell S., Lucy Billingsley and Stuart, 16 grandchildren: Carter Trammell Crow, Robert Wade Crow, Trammell Crow Hancock, Lucy Paige Billingsley, Robert Nathaniel Crow, George Harlan Billingsley, Margaret Doggett Crow, Lillian Kathleen Crow, Anne Sumner Billingsley, Daniel Howard Crow, Virginia Marie Crow, George Trammell Crow, Isabella Margie Crow, Harlan Robert Crow, Margaret Dena Crow and Sarah Katherine Crow, and three great-grandchildren: Carter Harrison Crow, Trammell Collin Crow and Duncan Wade Crow.
A public service will be held on Monday, January 19, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at Highland Park United Methodist Church, located at 3300 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas 75205. If interested in doing a memorial, persons may consider The Margaret and Trammell Crow Chair for Alzheimer's and Geriatric Research at Southwestern Medical Foundation, 2305 Cedar Springs Road, #150, Dallas, Texas 75201.
