TIMELINE: <i>Some notable events in John Crean’s life</i>

1925

Born July 4 in Bowdon, N.D.

1929

Moves with family to Compton

1942

Drops out of high school and enters U.S. Navy during World War II

1947

Drops out of Los Angeles City College and takes job in trailer factory

1948

Marries Donna Mae Setterstrom

1951

Founds Fleetwood Enterprises, a company designing Venetian-blind system for travel trailers

1954

Begins donating 10% of earnings to Lutheran church in Anaheim

1967

Sets land speed record for driving from Tijuana to La Paz

1981

Donates 93-acre ranch to Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove

1989

Builds mansion, intended mostly for guest use, on Santa Ana Heights property

Chairs American Red Cross campaign for Hurricane Hugo relief

1992

Co-hosts local TV cooking show “At Home on the Range” with Barbara Venezia

1997

Merges with Michigan-based Pulte Corp. to form house-manufacturing company Expression Homes

1998

Resigns in January from Fleetwood Enterprises

Donates $2 million to help open Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana

1999

Donates $1 million to help rebuild Balboa Performing Arts Theater

2000

Founds Crean Acres housing community in Hemet

2002

Donates $500,000 for new library in Mariners Park

2006

Opens Donna and John Crean Mariners Branch Library

2007

Dies Jan. 11 at age 81