Thomas Eugene Crook

September 29, 1947 – November 13, 2021

Thomas (Tom) Crook fought a valiant fight with cancer, Parkinsons, and heart failure until his heart finally gave out. Tom was respected and liked by everyone who knew him. Qualities he possessed as expressed by his sister-in-law Jackie: “intelligent, capable, hardworking, honest, intrepid, inventive, skilled, woodworker, worldly, family man, fighter, no nonsense, humorous, lover of life, loud, born leader. “

Tom was born in Rossland, BC, Canada but his family lived in Northport, WA where his father was the superintendent of a cement mining company. His father passed away when Tom was nine, so his mother Babe, brother Randy and sister Shary moved to Garfield, WA where his maternal side of the family lived. Being a staunch Catholic family, Tom chose to go to school at Bishop White Seminary and Mater Cleri Seminary through high school. He began his college studies at Gonzaga University.

However, Tom decided the celibate life of a priest was not for him, so he transferred to Eastern Washington College (now University) to become a high school industrial arts and vocational ed. teacher. He met Patty, who became his best friend and love of his life in 1968 and they married in 1969.

The Vietnam War delayed fulfilling his dream of becoming a teacher. His lottery number came up and he decided “he’d rather fly over the war, than walk through it.” Upon graduation from Eastern, Tom began what would become a 22-year career in the United States Air Force. He was selected for Officer Training School in 1970 then was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in January 1971. He attended Basic Navigator training at Mather AFB, CA where Michael was born later that year. Upon graduation, Tom was selected for RF-4C training at Shaw AFB, SC to become a fully qualified Weapon Systems Officer (WSO). After completing his training Tom was assigned to the 91st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Bergstrom AFB, TX in 1971. Near the end of their third year stay at Bergstrom, Renee joined the family.

Soon after Tom was assigned as an Instructor to the 452nd Flying Training Squadron taking them back to Mather AFB, CA. During this time Tom completed his Master’s in Educational Systems Management. In the Fall of 1978, the family moved to Zweibrucken AB, Germany. While stationed in Germany, Tom was diagnosed with an irregular heart rhythm, which ended his flying career. It was devastating to him, but he still found a way to make the Air Force a positive and fulfilling career. At Zweibrucken AB he first served as Flight Commander, then was selected to be the Wing Executive Officer. In 1981, he was assigned to Headquarter USAF Europe to work directly with the NATO evaluation teams to determine combat readiness for all NATO flying units. In 1983, the family was transferred to RAF Alconbury, UK where Tom served as the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing Chief of Inspection and later the Deputy Base Commander. Upon his promotion to Lt. Colonel in 1987, Tom was selected for assignment to the Pentagon, HQ USAF where he worked in the Intelligence Systems Division.

After 22 years and 14 moves, in 1992, Patty and Tom decided it was time to stop, retire from the Air Force and move back home near family. At this time, Mike was a junior in college at WSU and Renee was graduating from high school; so, it seemed the opportune time to put down roots back in WA. They chose Camano Island as their new home.

That move was the start of Tom’s second life career as a high school teacher at Edmonds Woodway High School and then Burlington-Edison High School. He taught Engineering Design, Woodworking, Applied Math, and Applied Physics through the years. The leadership skills he developed in the military became useful when he was elected as president of the teacher’s union. He was honored by the Association of Career and Technical Educators for “Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Program”.

By this time, Tom’s heart issues were limiting his stamina, so after 18 years, he decided to retire for the 2nd time in his life in 2010. He had developed a wander lust with the military life, so he and Patty began fulfilling their travel dreams by buying a 30 ft travel trailer and going on multiple cruises. They went on memorable road trips, one with Tom’s brother Randy and his partner Cindy along Rte. 66 from Chicago to LA. The other was to Utah and all the National Parks with their good friends Ron and Melody. “On the Road Again” became Tom’s signature song.

For a kid who grew up in Garfield, a small farm community in the Palouse, Tom experienced adventures that few of his generation could imagine. During his Air Force career, he amassed more than 3500 hours of flight time and flew more than one million miles. Tom and Patty managed to visit all 50 states and 23 countries in their travels through life together. After all that adventuring and over 25 years on Camano they decided it was time to downsize, bringing them to Stanwood in 2017.

With all the places they visited and people they met, there was no greater joy in Tom’s life than, Patty, their children Mike and Renee, and their grandchildren Taylor and Casey. They have brought immense pride and great joy to his life.

In memory of Tom, please consider donations in his honor to Parkinson’s Foundation www.parkinson.org, Heart Rhythm Society www.hrsonline.org or Prostate Cancer Foundation www.pcf.org