Thomas Francis Crone, 94, of Brooksby Village, Peabody, MA, died Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, after a full life.
He was born in Fayetteville, Ohio, on May 17, 1925, the son of the late Charles Crone and Josephine (Yeager) Crone. He grew up working in his family’s butcher shop, alongside his four siblings during the Depression.
After graduating high school, he served in the U.S. Navy and attended Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., where he played football. He always liked to say that the first game of football he ever saw was the one in which he was playing.
After college, Tom found success selling lumber for Gerrity Lumber—where he worked for 40-plus years. He married Therese Marie (Bertrand) Crone, the love of his life, in 1954 in Villanova, PA. They moved to Cazenovia, where they lived for 35-plus years and raised five children.
Tom enjoyed the beach and gardening. He was an avid proponent of physical fitness and loved going to the gym. Weekends you could find him racing his sunfish at the Willow Bank Yacht Club or playing tennis. He was also a member of the Cazenovia Ski Club, where he taught all five of his kids to ski. After moving to Brooksby Village, where Tom and Marie had many friends, he discovered a passion for music and the theatre. He was a member of the church Choir and Theatre at the Pond acting troupe, appearing in numerous plays. His Catholic faith was a constant throughout his life.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Marie Crone. He is survived by his five children, Thomas P. Crone and his wife Debbie of Herndon, VA, Carol Reynolds and her husband Stephen of Seabrook, NH, Diane Crone of Acton, MA, Sheila Armstrong of Salisbury MA, and John Crone and his wife Kathy of East Syracuse. He is also survived by his eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Arrangements: A mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, at the Brooksby Village Chapel, 301 Brooksby Village Drive, Peabody. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Salem, MA. Arrangements by the Conway Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to Brooksby Village Benevolent Fund, 100 Brooksby Village Dr., Peabody, MA 01960. For directions and online guestbook please visit ccbfuneral.com.
