The Life of Edward Danforth Crosby: A Remembrance

Edward Danforth Crosby was born March 15, 1918, to parents May Cowan Crosby and Gorham Crosby in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. The Spanish Flu pandemic also emerged that year, eventually infecting a third of the world’s population and killing about 675,000 Americans. Baby Edward would go on to live a longer than average life. Down the street, his first wife had been born 3 years earlier. His friends and family came to know him as “Dan.” In 1928, when Dan was ten, his father died from an apparent heart attack. In 1936, Dan graduated from Glen Ridge high school, and four years later, he graduated from MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts with a degree in chemical engineering. He also ran track while at college. When World War II broke out, Dan was rejected for military service because he was very underweight for a 6 foot tall person. Instead, he supported the war effort by working for Congoleum-Nairn in New Jersey, where the company had shifted much of its flooring production to the manufacture of military supplies like aerial torpedo parts and grenades. In 1942, Dan married Ethelwynne Dorothy Bridge (“Winnie”). They started a family of their own in 1945, eventually having three children- Edward (Jr.) and twins, Ann and Peter. After the war, Dan went to work for Socony-Vacuum Oil Company in New York City. The company would later rename itself as Socony Mobil Oil Company in 1955, Mobil Oil Company in 1966 and much later in 1999, Exxon Mobil. The first family home was in East Orange, New Jersey. This allowed both Dan and Winnie to commute by train to the “City” until children entered the picture, at which point Winnie transitioned to homemaker. In 1954, the family moved to Wilton, Connecticut, where 2 acre zoning allowed for a more country-like environment and where train service to New York City allowed Dan to continue to work at Mobil. Most of the children’s growing-up years were spent in Wilton, and Dan and Winnie participated in many civic and volunteering activities. Dan was a Boy Scout troop leader and was most enthusiastic about getting his scouts outside on hiking and camping trips. Dan’s garage was the classic mix of workbench, tools, paints, and odds and ends. One of his hobbies was using his knowledge of electronics to build amplifiers for his sound system using older technologies like vacuum tubes. In the evening after supper he would often put on a “stack” of 78 RPM records and listen to classical music at substantial decibel levels. By 1966 all the children had graduated from high school and the Wilton home was an empty nest. In the late 70’s, Mobil moved their offices to Princeton, New Jersey. Not wanting to leave Wilton, Dan spent the rest of his working years making the weekly commute to Princeton, renting a room there during the weekdays and returning home for the weekends. In 1980 he retired from Mobil Oil and remained active in various local issues such as proposed state highway revisions. Dan and Winnie became avid birdwatchers and both of them enjoyed playing bridge. Dan could be found sitting down at a bridge table well into his 90’s. In 1997, his wife of 55 years passed away. Within a year or so he made the acquaintance of a teacher, not far from Wilton, who was close to retirement. In 2000, he and Janet Halley were married and moved to Cape Cod where they lived in a retirement community. Even into his later years, Dan remained energized in his politics. The “third rail” of a conversation could easily be letting a discussion drift toward some contentious issue. Dan and Janet were able to take several river cruises around the East coast area and in Europe. Dan turned 100 in March of 2018. A wonderful celebration was held at a local restaurant and was attended by all his children and other relatives from near and far. He even enjoyed a round of oysters on the half shell, a longtime favorite. He reflectively noted that he’d really had two lives: one with his first wife, Winnie, and a second with his wife Janet. After a short period of health challenges, Dan passed away at the age of 102 on June 19, 2020. In March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began to sweep the country, with over 100,000 Americans dead by June. Dan lived a long life. At 102 years of age, he had lived a longer than average life and, just over 100 years from his birth, had dodged another pandemic.  In addition to his wife and 3 children, Dan is survived by 4 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.  His ashes will be interred at a family plot in Beechwood Cemetery on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

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