Lucy B. McCrone, co-founder and matriarch of McCrone Research Institute, died on February 10, 2011, after succumbing to complications from pancreatic cancer. She was 87 years old.

Lucy was the wife of the late Dr. Walter C. McCrone. She was born in 1923 in Buffalo, and received a B.A. in chemistry from Wellesley College in 1945. After graduating, Lucy was hired as an analytical chemist at Arthur D. Little in Cambridge, Mass., where she worked from 1945 to 1957. In her laboratory, she met Dr. McCrone, who was there on a consulting visit. She fell in love and married him in 1957, and came to Chicago to work as a chemical microscopist for Walter C. McCrone Associates.

In 1960, Lucy and Dr. McCrone founded the McCrone Research Institute (McRI) in Chicago, where she went to work full time after leaving McCrone Associates in 1984. Her passion for the microscope and microscopy education often found her at McRI seven-days a week until a few months before her death. Even after being diagnosed with her illness last summer, she routinely visited the Institute, always remaining involved with the not-for-profit teaching and research organization that she affectionately called home for more than 50 years.

Professional microscopists and students alike recognize Lucy as the co-author (together with Dr. McCrone and John G. Delly) of the Polarized Light Microscopy course manual, which is widely used today and regarded as the “PLM Bible.” She also served as associate editor of The Microscope journal. Lucy was a skilled chemist and microscopist, who genuinely cared for her co-workers and students, all of whom she considered her family.

The feeling was mutual. Lucy will always be remembered for her witty sense of humor, generosity and a deep love for all living things. She was one of the most gracious and humble human beings I have ever known, and she leaves behind many joyful memories to all who knew her.

At Lucy’s request, there was no funeral. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Mrs. Lucy B. McCrone’s name to her Scholarship Fund at the McCrone Research Institute, the Jane Goodall Institute or a charitable organization of your choice. Her wish was for us to continue fulfilling her and Dr. McCrone’s dream of advancing the microscope and chemical microscopy.

All of us at McRI, and people in the wider microscopy community who knew Lucy, will mourn the end of an era while celebrating her long, accomplished life. She will be dearly missed.

Gary J. Laughlin
President/Executive Director
McCrone Research Institute