ATLANTA —Mercer University Life Trustee Dr. Remer Crum, a dedicated and loyal friend of the University, died Saturday at the age of 96. He, along with his wife Emily, was a longtime supporter of higher education in Georgia. The couple generously gave both their time and financial support to Mercer and LaGrange College, his wife’s alma mater. His funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Atlanta.
Educated at Middle Georgia College and the Georgia Institute of Technology, Dr. Crum was trained as a civil engineer. He spent the bulk of his professional career as an investor and real estate manager. He was also the president of the Fisher-Crum Foundation.
“Remer Crum’s life was characterized by integrity, hard work, a dedication to excellence, and generosity to the causes he held dear,” Mercer President William D. Underwood said. “He was an inspiration to so many, and he will be greatly missed. We offer our deepest sympathy to Emily and the Crum family.”
In 2000, the Crums announced their intent to deed an 83-acre Atlanta Office Park known as Century Center Park to Mercer and LaGrange College as part of their estate plan. This planned gift is the largest the University has recorded in its 176-year history. The Crums also endowed the Bessie Ayers Fisher Scholarship Fund at Tift College. The fund continues to provide scholarships at Mercer for gifted women.
A former trustee of Tift College, Dr. Crum served as a member of Mercer University’s Board of Trustees from 1986 until 1991. Dr. Crum was one of only seven members of the Board of Trustees in Mercer’s history elected as a Life Trustee. In 1988, the Crums were awarded lifetime membership in the President’s Club. Dr. Crum received an honorary doctorate of laws from Mercer on May 13, 2001. A portrait of the Crums is displayed in Mercer’s University Center.
Dr. Crum is survived by Emily, his wife of 70 years.
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