Donald Howard Crosby

AND HERE is a reply as it could only come from Don Crosby: when I asked
him why I still cry when listening to Schubert's string quintet (Deutsch 956), the Adagio, he said: "This music piece goes beyond music: It is (Schubert's)
DIALOGUE WITH THE UNIVERSAL SPIRIT!" ("Dialog mit dem Weltgeist").
That says all about his own spirituality! Dirk Holger

Bonnie, I was so sorry to hear of Donald's passing. I guess the last time I saw the two of you was at the Virginia Opera's Tristan und Isolde, which Irmgard and I also attended. I remember how enthused Donald was about the performance, which was truly wonderful.

(My letter to the A.G.S.): I am totally shocked and saddened... Only a few weeks
back I tried to call him but nobody replied (and I got a bad feeling, as several times before, his wife answered because he "could not come to the phone"...) Truly a big loss and not only to the AGS...I will never ever forget his "Taucher" and am so grateful his
son had sent me the CD of it.... And now:
WHO will be able to answer (wittingly) such questions as: "Did Thomas Mann really mean it when he wrote that (allegedly) Goethe said (in his "Lotte in Weimar"):"Er, der mir einzig Ebenbuertige...!" (Schiller)...
und dann das frech-frohe: "Man haette testamentarische Vorkehrungen treffen
muessen!"...was die Vollendung des 'Faust' betraf... Wer hat heute noch solchen Witz? Da haette ich mit D.C. gern eine Viertel-
stunde (oder laenger) so laut drueber
gelacht, dass das Telephon wackelte... "Ach, es lacht sich heutzutage mit keinem
mehr!"...Sein froehlicher Geist lebt weiter in...mir..und in all denen, die ihr Deutsch
von i h m gern verbessert bekamen... Adieu, D.H.C.! Dirk Holger

Vicki, Nicole and I are saddened by Donald's passing. Bonnie, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. We feel happy and honored that we had the opportunity to become unlikely friends from afar. Donald's love for Kauai and our Princeville condo crossed paths years ago and turned into a decade or so of periodic correspondence and visits. What started as discussions of Kauai grew to include many subjects, as well as travelogues complete with Bonnie's professional appearing photography. Our highlight was finally meeting Donald and Bonnie, when we journeyed from Arizona to Washington DC as part of our American history education of our, then, 10 year old daughter, Nicole. We knew that he made friends, wherever he went. Donald was always so gracious, positive and supportive in his written messages and more so in person. He was so proud, as well he should be, of Bonnie's artful photos, whether of the distant desert oasis of Dubai or the tropical splendor of Kauai. Knowing of his love of Bonnie, Kauai and her photography, we are including a picture Bonnie took of the moon over Hanalei. This picture has been a source of enjoyment and has meant a great deal to us. We will be thinking of Donald, as we visit the Island he loved. Alan, Vicki and Nicole Holly

I am so sorry for your loss, Bonnie, but I know that you will always have him by your side. I remember meeting him and loving his wit and wisdom. My prayers for all of the family, especially you. The tribute is an inspiration to all. Thank you for writing it.
Margaret Seitz RSCJ

Dear Bonnie, so shocked by the loss of your dear husband.
We have so many pleasant memories of you and Donald on the cruises we fook took together, to Alaska and later to South America.
We hope you find the strengh needed after this terrible loss.
Our thoughts are with you,
Your Dutch friends, Ineke and Piet.

Of all the professors I had in college, Donald Crosby made the biggest Mark on me and later, he was a great friend, he and Bonnie attending my wedding. I remember helping he and Bonnie get on the Internet and the last time I was at their house, they had as many devices such as iPads and computers as I. He was truly a man of the all time.

He helped me and encouraged me to stay with German and while I am not anywhere fluent, what I have is directly because of Donald. I called him my "German father."

He was a great man and I am going to miss his civilized ways in our increasingly uncivilized world. Vaya con Dios sir!

I met Donald as an older undergrad at UConn in the early 1980s. He opened up the world of Wagner's music, Kleist's works, as well as Hoffmann's, for me. He quickly became a friend, erasing the age and professor/student differences that lay between us. Though always the mentor, he was respectful of the student, if he deemed him worthy. I was lucky enough to be thought so. One of the greatest compliments I have ever received was to be described by Donald as a Renaissance man. I believe friendship overwhelmed his judgment in that instance; and there was maybe a bit of self-projection going on, for he, of all the men I have known, was the most deserving of that title.

One other memory, among many, stands out for me. I was invited with others to a Yuletide gathering at Donald's home. The centerpiece of the room in which we gathered was a glass-topped low table supported by a portion of the trunk of a tree. We recently had made our way together through the Ring cycle, with a classroom of students along for the ride. Donald had buried a sharp knife in that tree trunk and sometime that evening ceremoniously asked me to extract it. It was sweet; it was showy; it was sentimental; it was funny; it possessed so many allusive qualities to it; and it was so Donald.

Lloyd Holden

Donald will always have a special place in my memories. A lunch at my home for his 80th birthday was an event to be remembered. Present were Saul & Beth Lilienstein, Anja Kampe, Marvin Hass, Bonnie Becker and Betty Byrne among others.