Travis L. Crosby

My father studied history. He wrote books (seven of them!) about history. Capturing a life, summarizing it as both a series of individual events and a continuous whole is a difficult task. That's the problem in trying to summarize Travis L. Crosby: I keep returning to specific facts and specific memories, sometimes single points in time, that couldn't possibly capture the whole.

When I took my driver's license test, he had to show his own license to the examiner. There was a misprint, putting his birthdate a decade before his actual birthday of October 13, 1936. My dad made a joke about both the recorded age and his actual age. I'm pretty sure this is what put the examiner in a good enough mood to let me get my driving license.

He was from Weslaco, Texas, but apart from a demonstration of a pig-call (seeewww-EEEE! PIGPIGPIGPIGPIG!), I never really knew much about his early life. The way it always sounded to me, once he spent time in England on a Fulbright doing research and got his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins, he somewhat consciously dropped his Texas twang and peppered his speech with Britishisms. More often than not, he referred to young men as "chaps."

He taught in the History Department at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts for 38 years, serving periodically in administrative capacities in addition to his teaching duties. I know that his colleagues and friends considered him both scholarly and gentlemanly. He was an engaging, enjoyable class instructor, and a source of well-considered facts and informed opinions. His home office was often piled with hand-written index cards of reference material and ideas for articles or books.

My dad once told me that he never really met anyone famous, though he once recognized the playwright Samuel Beckett at a street crossing. I don't know - I have a feeling that within my dad's circle of friends, within his small corner of British History academia, he was well known.

I'm going to miss him. The occasional hand giving the back of my neck a squeeze, his penchant for sweaters and for tweed, the good humor with which he could make fun of himself, the occasional flashes of indignation at injustice done to others. I'm glad to have inherited some of those traits from him, including love of a musty book and an appreciation of fine movies.

Travis L. Crosby took his last breath at 9:32am on Dec 21, 2018 at home after months of battling leukemia. He is survived by his wife, Susan, younger generation of Matt, Tim, and Dan, and grandchildren Max, Mira, Carter, and Katy. A private celebration of Travis's life will take place in the spring. Donations in his memory may be made to Cooley Dickinson Health Care/Cooley Dickinson Hospital, where he was a dedicated volunteer during his retirement. Memorial gifts may be made online or sent to the Development Office, PO Box 329, Northampton MA 01060.

---Tim Crosby, Cambridge, MA.

Ahearn Funeral Home

(413)587-0044