Obituary: Arthur William Crooke, 96, Hood River

Arthur William Crooke was born on May 16, 1930. Six months after the stock market crash, in the beginning of the Great Depression. His father died when he was three so he and his four other siblings Daisy, Esmond, Walter and Eric were raised by his mother, Helen, his aunt Paula, and his grandparents.

Great Aunt Paul had a wealth of stories about the five kids and the antics they got up to, reminding me of the old TV show Spanky And Our Gang. They didn’t have a lot. Things had to be repaired or made themselves. This is how my Dad’s career as an engineer was born.

In high school he worked fixing sewing machines. He went to Rutgers University and then to MIT where he pursued these interests and became an electrical engineer, first working for RCA with televisions, and then onto work in various computer companies, designing computers where he received two patents for his innovations. He was doing something on a computer pretty much every day of his life.

He combined his love of computers and kids by volunteering at the Roxbury Unitarian Urban Ministry. He helped these inner city kids use the donated computers that Dad refurbished for them to bring to college.

He also loved to be outdoors with his own kids. Myself, Debbie, Bill and Rob. We skied in our backyard as early as some of us could walk. We went hiking and camping. We stayed in a cottage on, Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire in the summers. Eventually, he bought a piece of property where we would build our own cottage. The property gradually got a boat dock, stairs up to the top of the property and then my brother Bill, my cousin Dan and Dad got a good start on the cottage. Relatives and friends came up to stay and help us raise the walls. Every time you visited there was always a project which might have included moving huge boulders. On one of these visits Cousin Jeffrey gave Dad the fitting nickname of Pharaoh.

Each of Dad’s siblings’ families, and eventually their extended families would come up for a week every summer. He was famous for his Rattlesnake Island blueberry pancakes which he made from scratch every morning.

Initially, they were made from blueberries picked on the hill behind the cottage and later someone making the trip to “The Island” would pick up frozen blueberries at Shaws. This was the highlight of his life and probably the highlight for many of his visitors.

In 2010, after having a traumatic experience with bladder cancer, he decided to sell the island property and move to Pennswood Village in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where Aunt Daisy and Uncle Don were living. It was close to “The Farm” and all of the farm families.

He would come to the West Coast every Thanksgiving and again in the Spring to visit us. In Cupertino, California he would visit Bill and Lisa where he and Bill would spend time at Frys and talk computers. In Portland, Oregon he would visit, Rob, Barb, and his grand daughters, Rachael and Alyssa. We would all have Thanksgiving dinner with Rob’s family and his lovely and wild neighbors. Finally, he would visit me in Seattle. He loved to visit my classroom. He would teach the kids how to make blueberry pancakes and would bring a project for them. Stomp rockets, kites, or paper airplanes to name a few.

In 2024 at age 94, he decided to move to Oregon to be closer to all of us especially now that Debbie was also living in Oregon. He moved into Parkhurst Assisted. Living in Hood River where he could enjoy the river and mountains, visiting all of us and his three great grand children, Demi Rose, Eleazar, and Mila.

He enjoyed talking and joking with the Parkhurst staff. He continued working with his favorite Raspberry Pi computer with much consultation with Bill. He enjoyed going to Rob’s vineyard, Crooked Acres, sampling the delicious wines. Going out to lunch with Debbie. Restoring the garden outside his window at Parkhurst became a new passion. He even got out there with a weedwhacker himself at age 95 to cut weeds that might provide hiding places for the cats who threatened the birds he loved to watch. He got us all involved with that project continuing to earn his nickname of Pharoah.

There are many more things I could tell you about. He had many other life long interests. Community theater, his 1929 Model A Ford, swimming, and wood working are some. He was an amazing man, loved by many and led a life well lived.

I think he would agree with Charlie Chaplin who said “A day without laughter is a day wasted”.

He died suddenly at Providence Memorial hospital in Hood River, Oregon after a short illness at the age of 96. He will be buried at the Great River Natural Burial. A celebration of his life will be held at 11:00 A.M., October 3rd, 2026 at Anderson Tribute Center 1401 Belmont Avenue, Hood River, Oregon 97031.

Condolences may be shared with the family by visiting www.AndersonsTributeCenter.com