Tribute to a Friend
John “Jack” Croul was the greatest of the Greatest Generation.
By serving as a navigator of a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber in 33 missions over Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II, he overcame the odds of survival, and mastered the challenge with such grace. Two days before his 20th birthday, Jack served as lead navigator on two missions on D-Day, the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, and witnessed the downing of many of his dearest friends in his unit, the 338th Bomb Squadron of the 8th Air Force.
Jack was brave and resilient. When his knee was injured with shrapnel, he worried he wouldn’t be able to dance again. After a quick recovery, Jack went to the officers’ club to go dancing. That night, he wrote in his journal, “I may begin flying right away, as I feel fine. I guess if I can dance, I can fly.” Indeed, he could do both and so much more: Jack grew Behr Paints into an important national brand, he drove Ferraris and other remarkable cars in the Milla Miglia, and he made gifts to fund three chairs in History at CMC, among myriad other accomplishments.
Jack always had a sparkle in his eyes, a great, warm laugh, and a sharp mind looking to solve a problem. And he was dancing on his 100th birthday on June 8, 2024. He leaves behind a wonderful family, including Kingsley Croul, who has also been a dear friend to CMC.
— Jonathan Petropoulos, John V. Croul Professor of European History
John “Jack” Croul ’49, a Claremont McKenna College Honorary Trustee, decorated war hero, and member of the original CMC Pacesetters, died on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 at age 100.
Croul joined the U.S. Army Air Corps at 18 and served in World War II from 1943 to 1945. As the lead navigator in the 96th Bomb Group, 338th Squadron, he flew a total of 33 missions, including two on D-Day. His bravery and skill earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and a Purple Heart. He retired as Captain in 1945.
After the war, Croul pursued higher education, attending Stanford University and transferring to Claremont Men’s College, where he graduated as a Pacesetter—the College’s original, earliest class of students.
He studied business, and eventually built a successful paint company, Behr Process Corp. The company, founded in 1947 by his late first wife’s family, merged into the Michigan-based Masco Corporation in 1999. Croul was the first employee of the company, which was one of the earliest suppliers of paints, stains, and varnishes to Home Depot, and he remained with Behr until retiring as president 51 years later. At the time of the Masco merger, Behr was one of the largest private companies in Orange County with more than 1,000 employees.
Upon celebrating his 100th birthday last June, Croul also had the distinction of being CMC’s oldest active alumnus.
“Jack is a product of the DNA of CMC, but CMC is also a product of his contribution to the school’s gene pool,” said Claremont McKenna Trustee E. David Hetz ’80 P’10. “From the moment I met him, he struck me as an absolute exemplar of what we aspire to produce at CMC. An honorable and humble man who is extraordinarily principled, hardworking, and yet at the same time, an absolute delight to be around.”
At CMC, Croul was a generous advocate of increasing student financial aid. He established the Janet Croul Memorial Scholarship to honor the memory of his late spouse and contributed to the establishment of the Russell S. Penniman, III Memorial Scholarship for his classmate from the Class of 1951. Croul also has supported the College by endowing three professorships: the John V. Croul Professorship of European History, the Kingsley Croul Professorship of American History, and the Otho M. Behr Professorship of the History of Ideas.
“Jack and I shared a fondness for things European. He loved European history, European cars, European wines, and European art, not to mention travel to Europe. He spent time in Paris with his wife, Kingsley, every spring and I was often able to meet them there, among other shared travel experiences I remember fondly,” said Jonathan Petropoulos, the John V. Croul Professor of European History at CMC.
Croul’s passion for flying fueled his lifelong hobbies, as he piloted gliders, Cessnas, and Piper Super Cubs, even obtaining a helicopter license at age 77. Additionally, he was an avid collector, amassing a treasure trove of WWII American fighter planes, and vintage cars from the 1950s.
Croul also kept a personal diary of his World War II experiences, leading to his self-published book, Teen-Age Lead Navigator. It provided a vivid picture of his time in the European theater out of Snetterton Heath Airfield, England.
“Jack liked to go fast—whether it be in planes, helicopters, cars, or boats. And in his later years, he loved sailing on his beautiful teak boat, the Palawan,” Petropoulos said. “Jack found things in his life that gave him joy, and after experiencing what he did in World War II, he appreciated them.”
In 2011, CMC named Croul as an Honorary Trustee in recognition of his distinguished service to the College. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in 2017 at CMC’s Commencement ceremony.
Croul, whose motto was “Just do the right thing and think of other people,” was actively involved in philanthropic and civic organizations, including the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum and the Laguna Art Museum. Through the Croul Family Foundation, he assisted organizations focused on the homeless and economically disadvantaged in Orange County.
“Jack was an American hero, a CMC hero, a personal hero to all of us who knew him. Courageous in action, brilliant in vision, generous in spirit, and loads of fun,” observed President Hiram Chodosh. “We will miss and honor him always.”