Kenneth Z. "Ken" Crawford passed away peacefully on March 20, 2018 at the age of 97.

He spent most of his life in Crawfordsville building a successful manufacturing business and later pursuing his life-long passion for raising Standardbred trotting horses.

Ken was born to Perry O. Crawford and Irma Zschokke Crawford in San Mateo, CA, raised in Medford, OR, and Winnetka, IL. He graduated from New Trier High School in 1938, where he was captain of the varsity baseball team and sang in Glee Club.  Ken married Virginia Marshall "Ginny" Coyner the same day he graduated from Purdue University in 1942 with a degree in mechanical engineering. At Purdue, he was a member of the Delta Delta Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity and continued to play baseball for the university.

Ken spent a lot of time at Wrigley Field growing up near Chicago and was a lifelong Cubs fan. He began his career with the Ford Instrument Company in Brooklyn, NY, designing fire-control systems for the Iowa-Class Battleships in WWII. He continued his engineering career in the publishing and plastics industries with Doubleday, RR Donnelley and Ingress-Plastene. Upon developing the application of polyethylene plastic for loose-leaf binders he founded his own company, Crawford Industries, in 1959. That same year Ken inherited from his father-in-law, Dr. A. B. Coyner, his first horse Al-Key, which inspired a life-long passion of racing Standardbred trotters. Following the sale of his company in 1985, Ginny and Ken built a 94-acre horse farm outside of Crawfordsville and dedicated their time breeding, raising, training and racing trotters. Several highlights included becoming the World's Fastest Amateur Standardbred Driver in 1988 behind his horse, Broderick. A year later Broderick achieved a World Record of 1:55.2 in the One-Mile Trot at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Illinois.  His love for racing horses (and the Cubs) continued until his passing.  Ken is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 67 years, Ginny. He is also preceded in death by his siblings Perry O. Crawford II and Dora M. Crawford, daughter Jean Marshall Crawford and grandson Alexander Kenneth Whybrow. He is survived by his children Kenneth Coyner Crawford (wife Erika) and daughter Cynthia Crawford Whybrow (husband Chris), grandchildren Alexander D. Crawford, Oliver Marshall Whybrow (wife Rachel) and Molly Hawkins Thompson (husband Ryan), great-grandchildren Delphine A. Crawford and Harry Hawkins Thompson.

A celebration of his life will be held this summer at his horse farm. The family requests that donations in Ken's memory be made to either the Delta Delta Chapter of Sigma Chi or the Mechanical Engineering Department at Purdue University.