The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

E. Bryant Crutchfield, creator of the Trapper Keeper, dies at 85

In the 1980s and ’90s, his brainchild became a ubiquitous presence in school hallways across America

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August 29, 2022 at 11:16 p.m. EDT
E. Bryant Crutchfield, who gave millions of students the Trapper Keeper, died Aug. 21 at 85. (Family photo)
5 min

E. Bryant Crutchfield, a paper-company executive whose signature product design became a touchstone of student life in the 1980s and ’90s, and an orderly object of nostalgia forever after, died Aug. 21 at a hospice center in Marietta, Ga. The creator of the Trapper Keeper was 85.

His wife, Virginia Crutchfield, confirmed his death and said the cause was cancer.