Bion R. Cram ’37 died on December 21, 2008, in Melbourne, Florida, after a brief illness.

Bion R. Cram ’37.. Image from: http://www.fryeburgacademy.org/Page/Admissions/Bion-R-Cram-Scholarship

He was born in West Baldwin, Maine, on April 15, 1915. He prepared for college at Fryeburg Academy, where he was honored with the Gibson Medal and Scholarship Award. While at Bowdoin, he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He began his career in New York City at the Manufacturer’s Hanover Bank, where he worked from 1937 to 1941. He served as a sergeant major of the Army in 1942, and was employed by AT&T from 1942 to 1949. He moved to investment banking in 1950 when he joined Estabrook &  Co., then Spencer Trask & Co. and finally Shearson Loeb Rhodes. After retiring in 1982, he and his longtime partner divided their time between their homes in Maine and Florida. He was generous with both his alma maters, endowing the Bion R. Cram Professorship in Economics and the Bion R. Cram Scholarship Fund at Bowdoin, and funding the Bion R. Cram Library at Fryeburg Academy. In 2007, following a devastating fire at the Academy, he dedicated a new athletic arena in honor of his sister, Ada Cram Wadsworth, who survives him. His partner of 59 years, John H. McCoy, predeceased him by 13 days. He also was predeceased by a brother, Howard A. Cram.