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Illustrious
Robert Shields Crump
Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Virginia from 1921 through 1949 |
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Brother
Crump was a kindly, gentle, considerate man. He was a grand citizen and a
grand Mason. He was a good man in the fullest meaning of that statement, and
there is an old saying, “To be good is to be great,” and that idea fits
Brother Crump’s life to perfection. I never knew him to become angry. I never
knew him to speak ill of any human being. I never knew him to be upset, no
matter what the provocation was. I never knew him to profane the name of
Deity. I never knew him to utter a statement that did not bear the light of
truth. I never knew him to tell a suggestive story. His whole life was that
of a Christian and Mason par
excellence. I believe there is not a shadow of criticism that could have
been hurled at him, throughout his home, business, or fraternal life. His
passing is a loss to his city, state, and nation, as well as to his family,
his business, and his fraternal connections. Long may the memory of him
remain green. Brother
Crump was born on February 11, 1862, at Richmond, Virginia, and was rapidly
approaching his eighty-eighth anniversary. As a boy he attended private and
public schools in the city of Richmond, where he lived his entire life,
graduating from the old Richmond High School. In 1886, he started his career.
His first fling at life was to become connected with a wholesale shoe house
in Richmond under the name of Wingo, Ellett and Crump. His position was that
of traveling salesman, which he continued until 1896, when he engaged in a
wholesale fancy grocery and candy manufacturing business under the firm name,
Harrelson & Crump. He remained with this firm until 1902 when it was
dissolved. Then he organized the Standard Paper Manufacturing Company,
manufacturers of blotting paper as a specialty. He was secretary-treasurer
and general manager of this organization for several years and then became
president of the company, which he headed until he retired and was made
chairman of the board of directors, which position he held at the time of his
death. He had numerous other interests, however, in the business
world, for instance, director of Sauer Company, the Richmond Federal Savings
and Loan Company, the Benjamin T. Crump Company, and the State Planters Bank
and Trust Company. He was regional adviser of the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company,
and held an interest in the Transit Lumber Company of Richmond. Brother Crump never had any active military experience,
but for several years he was a member of the Richmond Howitzers, a military
company. He was also a member of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and one of
its hoard of directors, and a member of the board of directors of the
National, State and City Bank, and the Richmond Transit Company, which
position he held until the time of his death. In addition, he was a member of
several other industrial enterprises in some capacity. His
business activities and his traveling were, no doubt, largely responsible for
the fact that he did not become a Mason until he was forty-one years of age.
The ideals, purposes, friendliness, yes, its brotherliness, for he was a
Brother of man, appealed to him so strongly that he proceeded rapidly in
acquiring the other Degrees of Masonry after he became a Master Mason on
January 7, 1904, in Joppa Lodge No.
40, A. F. & A. M. at Richmond, Virginia, and seven years afterwards lie became Worshipful
Master of that Lodge. After his term of office had
expired, his interest continued unabated. In the same year, 1904, he
received all the Degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish
Rite up to and including the 32°
in the four Scottish Rite Bodies in the
Valley of Richmond. He held several offices in these Bodies, such as
Preceptor in the Council of Kadosh and Almoner of all
four Bodies, and served in other official capacities. Time
moved on, and his love for the institution
grew apace, so that the Supreme Council honored him in 1909 by bestowing upon
him the rank and decoration of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour. He
labored in the cause, and in 1911 the Supreme Council
additionally honored him by giving him the rank and dignity of the 33° with
the title, Inspector General Honorary.
Ten years later, during which time his interest never slackened for a moment,
in 1921, he was elected and crowned a 33°, Active Member of the
Supreme Council, his jurisdiction being the Orient of
Virginia. His
ability and good judgment were soon acknowledged and he
was placed in official positions in the Supreme
Council, which he filled with ability, and for several
years was chairman of the Committee on Nominations,
which passes on the merit of those who are
recommended for the honors of the Scottish Rite. At
the time of his death, he was the Grand Chancellor of the Supreme Council,
the fourth in authority; was the senior
member in age of the Supreme Council, was nearly eighty-eight years of age,
and was third in seniority of the Active Members of the Supreme Council. For
twenty-eight years he served the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction
with vigor and with success. He liked joy and happiness and he liked fun of
the right sort, and so, some years later, he was made a Noble of the Mystic
Shrine in Acca Temple, and he enjoyed the frivolities of that organization
as much as the younger members. The membership thought a great deal of him
and, for several years in the Mystic Shrine, he was elected a representative
of Acca Temple to the Imperial Council. |
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