CHARLESTOWN, N.H. – Larry Crainich passed away, with his wife Dianne at his side, on Nov. 26, 2025. The staff at the Applewood Center Nursing Home are applauded for their wonderful, extremely attentive, and thoughtful care for Larry during his time there.
Larry was born in Yugoslavia (now Slovenia), near the Italian border, in 1942. He emigrated from war-torn Europe to the U.S.A. at the age of 8 with his family. Tragically, his mother Stefania died when Larry was 3 years old. His father Joseph and older siblings, brother Robert and sister Brigida, along with his stepmother Maria and her children, immigrated to Bridgeport, Conn. They were immigrant displaced persons looking to make a new life in the U.S.A.
Larry graduated from Bullard Havens Technical School in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1961, and his concentration of study was tool and die. He went on to work and support the tool-making trades at various manufacturers (Fairfield Tool & Die, Bridgeport Tool & Die, and Lacey Manufacturing) in Bridgeport, and found his passion in tool design/drafting. Larry considered education integral to success, and was a voracious reader, continually learning all his life.
In 1971, Larry founded Design Standards Corporation (DSC). DSC initially designed tools for metal stampings. In 1980, Larry acquired Vicon Tool, which allowed DSC to design and build tools for metal stampings, which led to production manufacturing. The trifecta of design, development, and manufacturing allowed for a more complete service offering. Design Standards Corporation became a reliable vendor and service provider to the medical device industry. Larry Crainich, leading DSC, followed and was an integral part of the evolution and technological innovations of the medical device industry from general open procedure instrumentation, the advent of laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgeries, to wristed/steerable devices, and ultimately instrumentation utilized in conjunction with surgical robotic platforms.
Larry Crainich, as an inventor, contributed to 163 U.S. patents, and also authored 131 articles, “Metal Stampings by Design,” for the industry publication Metal Forming, from 1989-2000. He was also sought out as an industry expert for speaking engagements across the U.S.A., and invited to Singapore and Bangkok. Larry was featured in an article for the Harvard Business Review in April 2004, “A Network of Invention.”
Larry was a force of nature, and had an intensity about him. He was purposeful about his vocation, solving technical problems, contributing to society, and helping people. In his office, he had a handwritten motto: “Achievement is the purpose of life. Without purpose there is no life.”
Recreationally, Larry skied, cycled, and played tennis. He loved alpine skiing, and raced in Pat’s Peak’s (Henniker, N.H.) proverbial “beer league” from 2007, at age 64, until 2016, age 73. His second-favorite sport was tennis, and he played at TSV in Charlestown, N.H. He thoroughly enjoyed the competition, camaraderie, and personal challenge of these athletic endeavors. Lastly, if you really knew him, you know that he hated golf.
As a father, guardian, and loving husband, Larry was responsible for raising two sons, and his niece and nephew. Twenty years of devoted responsibility is what he stated raising children entailed. His first stint started at age 26, his second stint came at age 54. The man went above and beyond, and was a fantastic father figure.
Larry is survived by Dianne Crainich, his wife of 29 years; his sons Eric and Paul (their mother Annemarie), and their spouses Andrea and Janet; his grandchildren Nadia, Olivia, Hugo, Aoife, Oscar, and Oliver; his nephew Thomas Jeliffe, fiancee Nika, and son Charlie; his niece Mary and her children; his sister Brigida, and her children Stefan and Heidi; and his brother Robert’s children Jim, Matt, Stefania, Michael, and Jason. He is predeceased by his stepbrother Luciano, and stepsisters Adelle and Josephine.
Larry’s wishes were not to have a funeral or wake. Instead, a Celebration of his Life will be planned for a time yet to be determined, in the spring of 2026.