* Frank W. Crane; Maritime Museum Director

Frank William Crane, founding executive director of the Ventura County Maritime Museum, died Saturday at his Oxnard home. He was 77.

A former public relations director, reporter, radio executive and computer consultant, Crane postponed retirement in 1985 to join Ventura County’s Maritime Museum Project.

Crane was named the fledgling museum’s executive director in 1987, and remained in that position after the museum opened its doors last year. He stepped down May 1 when museum directors eliminated the position to cut costs.

Dick Cunningham, curator of the Ventura County Maritime Museum, credited Crane’s tenacity for the successful opening of the museum. “Frank was totally dedicated to the quality of what was being done at the museum,” Cunningham said.

A native of Los Angeles, Crane attended the University of Southern California, where he later taught advertising.

During a diverse career, Crane helped organize the Freedom Train, a traveling museum of historic United States documents; served as public relations director for a Pittsburgh department store; was regional director of the Southern California March of Dimes; and served terms as president of the Southern California Broadcasters Assn. and the Hollywood Radio and Television Society.

In 1957, Crane became station manager of KDAY in Los Angeles, and later was executive vice president of the Imperial Broadcasting System in Riverside. After a stint with Arbitron, which conducts audience surveys for the radio industry, Crane spent two decades developing computer programs for radio stations.

Crane is survived by his wife Elizabeth. A private memorial service has been planned. Donations may be made to the Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Assn. Hospice, 1996 Eastman Ave., Suite 1010, Ventura, 93003.