May 13, 2014

Keith Crisco, who was in a tight race for the District 2 Congressional seat in N.C. after a recent primary election, died at his home in Asheboro, N.C., on May 12, apparently as a result of injuries from a fall. He was 71.

Keith Crisco

Keith Crisco

His rags-to-riches life story was an inspiration. Born to parents who did not finish high school and reared on a farm in Stanley County, N.C., he completed college at nearby Pfeiffer University, and then obtained a Master of Business Administration degree at Harvard. He served as a White House fellow in 1970-1971.

He became president of Stedman Elastics, in Asheboro in 1978. In 1986, he co-founded Asheboro Elastics and continued to oversee the company until his death.

Crisco served as an Advisory Council member for UNC’s School of Public Health, now the Gillings School of Global Public Health, from 1999 to 2011 and was serving a current term that began in July 2013. In that capacity, he was a generous early supporter of the executive Doctor of Public Health (online) program and other projects at the School.

“I am grateful that Keith Crisco was a part of our public health school for many years, dating back to his association with [former dean] Dr. Bill Roper,” said Dean Barbara K. Rimer. “He was an early advocate and supporter for our executive DrPH program and later, helped us to connect with potential partners for several areas of the School.” 

Rimer said Crisco’s keen understanding of “everything North Carolina” helped her gain a greater understanding of dynamics within the state.

“He was funny, astute, kind, wise, willing to help faculty members, participate on panels and to be a sounding board for several of us,” Rimer said. “He helped us connect with other organizations with goals complementary to ours.”

Rimer recalled an invitation from Crisco to tour Asheboro Elastics.

“Keith’s enthusiasm enthralled us as we learned about the production process,” Rimer said, “and then he took time to show us with great pride the sights in Asheboro. That visit and my other interactions with Keith Crisco showed him to be a remarkably down-to-earth man who could talk with anyone and speak knowledgeably about a huge range of topics. Yet he never forgot his roots. We’re going to miss him.”

A former member of Asheboro’s City Council and Gov. Bev Perdue’s Secretary of Commerce from 2009 to 2012, Crisco decided to make a late entry into congressional politics with the same optimistic and philanthropic spirit that guided much of his life.

He had made a wide network of friends and acquaintances through business and state administration. “Wouldn’t it be neat,” he asked, in interviews with The (Raleigh) News and Observer recently, “if someone with all those connections could represent North Carolina in Congress?”

Pfeiffer University, the N.C. Zoological Park and other institutions were beneficiaries of his long history of service and philanthropy.

Crisco and Jane, his wife of 49 years, had three children and six grandchildren.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, May 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Pugh Funeral Home, 437 Sunset Ave., Asheboro, N.C. The funeral will be held in Asheboro the following day, May 16, at 2 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 224 N. Fayetteville Street. Condolences may be made online.


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Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: David Pesci, director of communications, (919) 962-2600 or dpesci@unc.edu.
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