CHICOPEE – James R. “Jim” Crean, 64, of the Fairview section of Chicopee, was Called Safely Home on Tuesday, February 24, 2015. He passed into Eternal Life at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield after being stricken at his home surrounded by the care and comfort of his loving family. He was born in Holyoke on January 29, 1951, a beloved son of the late Edmund J. and Eleanor (McCurry) Crean. He was raised in South Hadley, graduated from South Hadley High School and lived there for many years before moving to Chicopee around 1972. He served his country in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War and attained the rank of Construction Mechanic Petty Officer Third Class. He received the National Defense Service Medal. Following his military service, he returned to the area and was employed as a Field Service Technician for the former O. R. Cote Company in Springfield. Following the closing of the company, he was employed at the Aaron Environmental Company in Plantsville, CT. Jim was a longtime member of the Fairview Council 4044 Knights of Columbus and the Fairview Assembly 2670 Fourth Degree, both in Chicopee. He volunteered at the council’s weekly bingo, the yearly Tootsie Roll Drive and their Thanksgiving Dinner. Active in his Catholic faith, he was a communicant of Saint Anne Church in Chicopee where he served his parish as an Usher. He leaves his beloved wife and best friend, Christine L. (Lavoie) Crean. They were married on May 29, 1972 at Saint Anne Church in Chicopee and were blessed with over 42 years of happiness together. He also leaves his sisters, Dr. Helen Crean-Taugher, PhD and her husband, Kevin Taugher, and Mary Ann Huddock and her husband, Thomas Huddock Jr., all of South Hadley; his sister-in-law, Charlotte I. McCain and her husband, Thomas McCain, of Chicopee; and his many dear nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces, cousins, numerous friends and extended members of the Crean and Lavoie families. Besides his parents, he was also predeceased by his brother, Edmund J. “Skip” Crean, Jr. who was Called Home on May 20, 1991. His funeral will be held on Monday morning, March 9, 2015 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Fairview Chapels, (413-533-3307), 506 Britton Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (funeral home will open at 9 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in Saint Anne Church, 30 College Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. His burial with US Navy Military Honors will follow the Mass at 1 p.m. in the Chapel at the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, 1390 Main Street, Agawam, MA 01001. His family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday morning, March 9, 2015 from 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. before the Mass. The parking lot is located in the rear of the funeral home. His family has requested that memorial donations be made in his memory to the Fairview Council 4044 Knights of Columbus Scholarship Fund, 1599 Memorial Drive, Chicopee, MA 01020 or the Sister Mary Caritas Cancer Expansion Project, PO Box 9012, Springfield, MA 01102. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com