Bessie Louise "Betty" Cronk

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Bessie Cronk Obituary

Bessie "Betty" Louise (McLaughlin) Cronk, 98, of 18 Carter Road, died Wednesday, June 18, 2008 in the Radius Healthcare Center of Worcester.

Her husband of 10 years, Thomas H. Cronk, predeceased her. She leaves two step-sons, Robert E. Cronk and his wife Eunice M. of Holden and George W. Cronk of Florida; 9 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. A step-daughter, Pauline H. Johnson predeceased her. She was born in Pembroke, New Brunswick, Canada, the daughter of Thomas E. and Nettie J. (Turney) McLaughlin, and lived in Canada until moving to Worcester in 1948. She worked as a secretary for Agway Feed & Grain Co. and was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church, both in Worcester.

A private graveside service will be held at Elmwood Cemetery, Bradford. Memorial donations may be made to the Radius Healthcare of Worcester, 119 Providence St., Worcester, MA 01604; or UMass Memorial Home Health & Hospice, 650 Lincoln St., Worcester, MA 01605. Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden, is directing arrangements.

www.milesfuneralhome.com

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Worcester Telegram & Gazette on Jun. 21, 2008.

Memories and Condolences
for Bessie Cronk

10 Entries

Eileen Estabrook Shepardson

June 15, 2025

I take credit for the name Betty, as I thought Bessie was not a good name for her and when I was a little girl I started calling her Betty and it stuck. Betty was always there for me and I will always love her.

Linda Baiza

July 16, 2008

I remember going to Aunt Betty's camp and swimming off the dock and sleeping on the porch when I was very young. I loved to go and pick blueberries and when I came back Aunt Betty would put them in a bowl with milk and sugar for me.
She was very close to my Grandmother, Harriett and quite often would come to my Grandmother's house for "hair day" where they would color and perm each others hair. I remember her love of dogs, she always had the backseat of her Buicks covered for the dog to lay on. When I was 11yrs old, she sent me on the most fantastic trip from Boston to California for spring break with a group of kids, sponsored by the TV show Boomtown. I will always remember Aunt Betty being at our family get togethers and how kind and thoughtful she was. As my Grandmother Harriet would say, "Betty was a good soul". She lived a long full life and was a very good soul indeed.

Dave & Peg Turner

July 4, 2008

We hold very dear memories of Aunt Betty. She was such a wonderful addition to our Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations over the years. Christmas is not quite the same without her and her gift of cashews she gave us each year. At the passing of both “Nana Brook” and “Grampy Brook” as the children called them – she was such a comfort to us all. She cooked and cleaned and made sure we were all taken care of and comfortable. We also loved hearing her stories of her travels “cross county” to Michigan to visit other family members. What a wonderful, lovely lady she was. She will be sorely missed.

Jane Gamble

July 3, 2008

Hello:
I will always remember my Aunt Betty as being so close to her sister - my mother. They loved each other and travelled many miles together in Betty's cars. I relished in all the stories of their travel adventures and bragged about them scooting about the country well into their eighties. They would laugh when I called them the Wild Ones. My mom was the quieter of the two but together they were a perfect balance - both talking at the same time, enjoying their many family visits. I loved Betty's giggle - like Betty Rubble of the Flintstones. We shared a love for animals, especially dogs. She told me often that we came "from good stock" and that provided our family with sound ground to grow on. I have lived long enough to see that she was right. Betty was a beautiful gift. I loved her and I miss her.

Matthew and Ryan Jewett

July 1, 2008

Hello,
Betty was my grandmother's sister and both my brother and I also looked forward to her visits to New Brunswick. Our parents would routinely take us down to MA since we can remember to visit Betty and bring her sister (my grandmother) down to visit as well. Visiting Betty became a must stop on our trips for work/fun to Toronto, Quebec, Boston or other places for a rest, a meal, some good conversation and occasionally some good arguing! After we lost our grandmother in 2002 Betty assumed an important link to our past and family. Although my brother (Ryan) and I had a habit of hardly ever sticking to our estimated time of arrival to Carter Road and more often than not usually arriving in the wee hours of the morning, Betty always had the lights on and never failed to greet us with her wonderful "well hello there!" We are pretty happy to have had her in our lives for 29 years (for me) and 26 years for my brother Ryan. The last time we both were able to see her was right before Christmas on our way back up north. She still had her sense of humour and sharp wit. She left us with some of the best advice we have both received to date and that was to do what you can now because tommorow may not come and someday you may not be able to do what you always wanted so go for it. If we ever needed justification for a trip, adventure or something we wanted to do Betty readily provided it with her encouraging words. I often wonder who enjoyed our adventures and pictures more, us in doing them or her hearing about them. I think our regular runs up and down Insterstate 95 are now going to be a bit longer now sadly.

Carol Ann & Mac Campbell

June 24, 2008

During my childhood years, my family always looked forward to Aunt Betty's summer visits to Woodstock, NB Canada. She always brought her dog and later her cat and her camera.We treasure all the pictures she gave to our mother. In later years, my mother Jennie Jewett, would anxiously await Aunt Betty's spring and fall visits to NB. In the spring, the two of them would travel to Detroit to visit our Aunt Evelyn and then on to Toronto to visit my sister Marilyn's family. They were like 'Thelma and Louise'- no fear! Her greatest gift to me and my husband Malcolm, was our grandson Christopher, as she always took credit for convincing our daughter Teri Ann and husband Scott that it was time to have a child. Thank you Aunt Betty for all the wonderful memories.

Marilyn Holyoke

June 24, 2008

Aunt Betty,, my mum's older sister(by one year!)enjoyed a very close and happy childhood. She and Jen continued that relationship all their lives. Betty visited with her family in NB nearly every summer so we too shared in all that love and companionship. In later years Betty and Mum would visit with me and my family on their way to or from a great visit with Aunt Evelyn.
Many, Many happy memories of all those years, so fortunate we were
Marilyn Holyoke

Eileen Shepardson

June 24, 2008

Mrs. Cronk was my aunt, but seemed as close as a mother to me. She was the most generous person I know and will be sorely missed by many. I know that she and my mother and their other two sisters are in heaven having a great time going over all the events of the years.

Britton Boughner

June 22, 2008

I just found out about Betty's passing. She was my great aunt (half sister of my grandmother, Harriet). I have many fond memories of Betty. My two sisters and I spent a few summers at her cottage (the Camp) in Hampstead, NH. When I was a young teenager, Betty funded my entire trip to Orr/Walton Hockey Camp in Canada. She was an integral part of our family growing up, and she joined us for many family events. I saw her about a month ago and was planning another trip soon, but sadly now I won't have that opportunity. As my grandmother would say, "Betty was a good old soul," and I will miss her dearly.

Charlene Rigie

June 22, 2008

I had the pleasure of knowing Betty since I was 8 years old. She was like a grandmother to me and I will never forget all she did for me and my family, I will keep many happy memories of her with me forever.

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