Obituary for Robert Glenn "Bob" Crosen Jr.
Blue Hill
On Easter Sunday, two months past his 93rd birthday, Robert Glenn (Bob) Crosen, Jr. passed away peacefully at Parker Ridge, after a life full of blessings, love, kindness, and creativity.
A gentleman ever young at heart, he was loved by his family and many friends and colleagues for his positive outlook, thoughtful participation, generosity, great advice, and camaraderie. His sincere, appreciative spirit shone in his light blue eyes, and his sweet smile brightened any conversation.
The son of Robert Glenn Crosen, Sr., and Gwendolyn Stevenson Crosen, he was born February 5, 1931. With his sisters, Mary Alice and Sally, Bob grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, where his father (Glenn) was a chemistry professor and Dean of Lafayette College. He had a happy boyhood and as a teen enjoyed going to sporting events with his dad. He appreciated his father’s interest in people and would follow his example in treating everyone with kindness and respect. As Robbie, Rob, then Bob, he and his mother (Gwen) would remain close through her 97 years, sharing an interest in writing, creative fun, and family history.
In 1935 his parents bought a camp lot on Beech Hill Pond in Otis, Maine, hiring two local men to build a cabin. The family spent summers at the beautiful pond, and the Old Cabin, flanked by two neighboring cabins, remains a beloved gathering place for generations of Crosens.
Graduating from Easton High School in 1949, Bob spent a year at Mercersburg Academy, then four years at the University of Maine in Orono, majoring in business administration. One enchanted evening in 1952 he met Joyce Hancock, a graduate of Pembroke College, at a grange hall dance in Mariaville. She was teaching high school English in Ellsworth, near her hometown of Hancock. It was love at first sight, and by the fourth date they were engaged. As young marrieds they lived in Old Town during Bob’s last year at UMO where he graduated in 1954, the year daughter Jane was born.
After several years near Philadelphia and Boston, the family, with son Glenn, settled in Cumberland Center, Maine, near Portland where Bob worked as a bonding specialist. He became vice president of Maine Bonding and Casualty Co., which merged with Fidelity & Deposit where he became Maine Branch Manager. A people person, Bob enjoyed working with colleagues and contractors, making trips around Maine and New Hampshire inspecting large construction projects, including the Parker Ridge retirement community in Blue Hill.
A caring, supportive husband, father, uncle, grandpa, and great-grandpa, Bob discovered the joy of giving for the satisfaction of helping loved ones, financially and with encouragement and delight in their accomplishments. Bob was forward-thinking, fiscally prudent, and a careful steward of everything he made, collected, or was given, always polished and in good repair. A skilled woodworker, he loved designing, building, and decorating intricate wooden boxes, clocks, furniture, boat models, dollhouses, and whirly-gigs as gifts for family members, and benefit items for an annual church fair.
Upon retirement from Fidelity & Deposit in 1994, Bob had more time for woodworking along with restoring antique cars and traveling with Joyce, who never learned to drive but loved researching and planning trips. During their marriage they went on many grand adventures around Europe, the British Isles, the US, and Canada.
In 1996 Joyce began a long journey with dementia, with Bob as her devoted caregiver for 18 years until she died in 2013. With loving kindness, patience, and courage, Bob weathered the challenges of the “long goodbye,” caring for her at home until her last two years at Sedgewood Commons in Falmouth. He loved her most of all during this time.
In 2014 he moved to Parker Ridge in Blue Hill (near daughter Jane and the family camp), finding a happy home as a member of the retirement community. There he would bring fun-loving spirit to activities, share beautiful pecan pies baked in his cottage, sketch colorful still life drawings, advocate for cottage owners, and write his memoirs as monthly essays in the Writing Group.
At Parker Ridge he found new love with another resident, Claire Shaw, who became his sweetheart and companion, “the cherry on top of the sundae” of a life well lived. Both magically became 70 years younger, and their love and resilience have been an inspiration to their family, friends, and the Parker Ridge community. Bob will be deeply missed by his daughter Jane Crosen Washburn (Richard) of Penobscot, Maine; son Robert Glenn Crosen III (Nancy) of West Chester, Pennsylvania; granddaughters Kelsey Crosen Osborne (Thomas) of Allentown, Pennsylvania; Megan Hallosen (Patrick) of Redding, Connecticut; Molly Crosen Stanley (Brian/Stan) of Oxford, Maine; great-granddaughters Fiona and Maeve; sister Sally Bonello of Little Silver, New Jersey; nephew John Michael; nieces Alison Markiewicz (Hank), Wendy Bonello, Betsy Smith (Matt), and Catie Filipelli (Anthony); and sweetheart Claire Shaw and her daughters, Joyce Newkirk, Dale Champlin, Helen Burt, and Joni Brown.
Bob’s family express heartfelt thanks to the Parker Ridge staff and hospice team for all their loving care and support through his last days, and plan to celebrate his life this summer.
Condolences may be shared at www.jordanfernald.com
On Easter Sunday, two months past his 93rd birthday, Robert Glenn (Bob) Crosen, Jr. passed away peacefully at Parker Ridge, after a life full of blessings, love, kindness, and creativity.
A gentleman ever young at heart, he was loved by his family and many friends and colleagues for his positive outlook, thoughtful participation, generosity, great advice, and camaraderie. His sincere, appreciative spirit shone in his light blue eyes, and his sweet smile brightened any conversation.
The son of Robert Glenn Crosen, Sr., and Gwendolyn Stevenson Crosen, he was born February 5, 1931. With his sisters, Mary Alice and Sally, Bob grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, where his father (Glenn) was a chemistry professor and Dean of Lafayette College. He had a happy boyhood and as a teen enjoyed going to sporting events with his dad. He appreciated his father’s interest in people and would follow his example in treating everyone with kindness and respect. As Robbie, Rob, then Bob, he and his mother (Gwen) would remain close through her 97 years, sharing an interest in writing, creative fun, and family history.
In 1935 his parents bought a camp lot on Beech Hill Pond in Otis, Maine, hiring two local men to build a cabin. The family spent summers at the beautiful pond, and the Old Cabin, flanked by two neighboring cabins, remains a beloved gathering place for generations of Crosens.
Graduating from Easton High School in 1949, Bob spent a year at Mercersburg Academy, then four years at the University of Maine in Orono, majoring in business administration. One enchanted evening in 1952 he met Joyce Hancock, a graduate of Pembroke College, at a grange hall dance in Mariaville. She was teaching high school English in Ellsworth, near her hometown of Hancock. It was love at first sight, and by the fourth date they were engaged. As young marrieds they lived in Old Town during Bob’s last year at UMO where he graduated in 1954, the year daughter Jane was born.
After several years near Philadelphia and Boston, the family, with son Glenn, settled in Cumberland Center, Maine, near Portland where Bob worked as a bonding specialist. He became vice president of Maine Bonding and Casualty Co., which merged with Fidelity & Deposit where he became Maine Branch Manager. A people person, Bob enjoyed working with colleagues and contractors, making trips around Maine and New Hampshire inspecting large construction projects, including the Parker Ridge retirement community in Blue Hill.
A caring, supportive husband, father, uncle, grandpa, and great-grandpa, Bob discovered the joy of giving for the satisfaction of helping loved ones, financially and with encouragement and delight in their accomplishments. Bob was forward-thinking, fiscally prudent, and a careful steward of everything he made, collected, or was given, always polished and in good repair. A skilled woodworker, he loved designing, building, and decorating intricate wooden boxes, clocks, furniture, boat models, dollhouses, and whirly-gigs as gifts for family members, and benefit items for an annual church fair.
Upon retirement from Fidelity & Deposit in 1994, Bob had more time for woodworking along with restoring antique cars and traveling with Joyce, who never learned to drive but loved researching and planning trips. During their marriage they went on many grand adventures around Europe, the British Isles, the US, and Canada.
In 1996 Joyce began a long journey with dementia, with Bob as her devoted caregiver for 18 years until she died in 2013. With loving kindness, patience, and courage, Bob weathered the challenges of the “long goodbye,” caring for her at home until her last two years at Sedgewood Commons in Falmouth. He loved her most of all during this time.
In 2014 he moved to Parker Ridge in Blue Hill (near daughter Jane and the family camp), finding a happy home as a member of the retirement community. There he would bring fun-loving spirit to activities, share beautiful pecan pies baked in his cottage, sketch colorful still life drawings, advocate for cottage owners, and write his memoirs as monthly essays in the Writing Group.
At Parker Ridge he found new love with another resident, Claire Shaw, who became his sweetheart and companion, “the cherry on top of the sundae” of a life well lived. Both magically became 70 years younger, and their love and resilience have been an inspiration to their family, friends, and the Parker Ridge community. Bob will be deeply missed by his daughter Jane Crosen Washburn (Richard) of Penobscot, Maine; son Robert Glenn Crosen III (Nancy) of West Chester, Pennsylvania; granddaughters Kelsey Crosen Osborne (Thomas) of Allentown, Pennsylvania; Megan Hallosen (Patrick) of Redding, Connecticut; Molly Crosen Stanley (Brian/Stan) of Oxford, Maine; great-granddaughters Fiona and Maeve; sister Sally Bonello of Little Silver, New Jersey; nephew John Michael; nieces Alison Markiewicz (Hank), Wendy Bonello, Betsy Smith (Matt), and Catie Filipelli (Anthony); and sweetheart Claire Shaw and her daughters, Joyce Newkirk, Dale Champlin, Helen Burt, and Joni Brown.
Bob’s family express heartfelt thanks to the Parker Ridge staff and hospice team for all their loving care and support through his last days, and plan to celebrate his life this summer.
Condolences may be shared at www.jordanfernald.com