Written by MPVA

It is with deep sadness that we must inform you that Cliff Crase passed away August 15, in Michigan, following a most courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

Cliff loved his PVA family, his dedicated staff, and always did all he could to help PVA members and veterans throughout this country.

Cliff's contributions to this organization over the years are too vast in number to list. PN staff invites you to share your remembrances and anecdotes that may become part of the tribute to Cliff in a late fall PN issue -- please send to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Clifford D. Crase was born September 24, 1938, in Trimountain, Michigan. He has entertained and enlightened PN's readers for years, first as sports columnist and later as editor (PN, 1978 to present; Sports N' Spokes (SNS), 1975 to present.

A member of the U.S. Air Force, Cliff was stationed in the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean areas from 1956 to 1959. While there, he played on the North African all-star basketball team for two years.

He played one year with the 29th Air Division Team in the U.S. He sustained a spinal-cord injury (C6-7) in 1959 while an Air Force navigator. He attended the University of Illinois, and graduated from the Illinois College of Business in 1967.

He was a member of Vaughan PVA 1960-1967, and became an Arizona PVA life member in 1968.

Cliff served as PVA national sports director for ten years, after achieving great success as a national and international wheelchair athlete. He was a member of the University of Illinois Gizz Kids swimming and track and field teams (1964-68) and a gold-medal swimmer on the U.S. Wheelchair Team (1967-70).

He held the world's breaststroke record for 1967 and 1968. He was inducted into the National Wheelchair Athletic Association (NWAA, now Wheelchair Sports of the U.S.A.) in 1973 and is a member of the Upper Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (1979) and the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) Hall of Fame (1989). In 1969, he received PVA's Jack Gerhardt Athlete of the Year Award.

In 2006, he was inducted into the Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame (Michigan).

Cliff was a member of the NWAA/WSUSA Board of Directors, 1979-1991.

Phoenix was home to Cliff and his loving wife, Nancy, and their daughter, Victoria Anne.

On behalf of PVA, we send our heartfelt prayers and condolences to Nancy and Tori, and to Cliff's dedicated team at the PN, whom he loved and respected dearly. Each of us will long remember with fondness this extraordinarily special and dedicated man, who gave so much to the Paralyzed Veterans of America throughout his lifetime. Godspeed, Cliff.