John passed away at home on Wednesday evening, April 3rd. He is survived by his wife Barbara, sisters Elizabeth Cronin of Larkspur and Anna Blake (Ron) of Fort Worth, TX and brother Patrick Cronin of Pasadena, FL. He was the loving uncle of Nicole Minshew (Cody) of Fort Worth, John Blake of Katy, TX, Brian Cronin of San Francisco, and April Cronin of Indianapolis, IN, and the loving “Guncle” (granduncle) of Hogan and Violet Minshew. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Thomas Cronin, and his nephew Ryan Blake.
John (known to family as “Jack”) was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois on February 4, 1950 to John Michael Cronin and Elizabeth Buck Cronin. He graduated from Brother Rice High School in 1968 and Loyola University Chicago in 1972, and received his MBA in Construction Management from Golden Gate University in 1983.
After working for Underwriters Laboratories and the Economic Development Administration in Chicago, John moved to San Francisco in 1980, where he began his 39 year career in construction management with the San Francisco Clean Water Program. Over the years, he was a construction manager and inspector for a number of firms including CH2M Hill and GHD, and worked on many projects including the Oceanside Treatment Plant and Great Highway Reconstruction in San Francisco and the Geysers Pipeline in Santa Rosa. In addition to his technical expertise and legendary attention to detail, John’s colleagues appreciated his extremely dry sense of humor.
John moved to Larkspur in 1981 and met Barbara while commuting into San Francisco on Golden Gate Transit. They married in 1988 and settled in Corte Madera. He enjoyed working in his garden and firing up the barbecue. He was a sports fan - following baseball, basketball, soccer, and cycling, and he had been an avid golfer. John loved his family very much and was a wise and witty and wonderful husband, brother, uncle, and guncle, and we will miss him terribly.
Visitation will be at Keaton’s Mortuary, 1022 E. Street in San Rafael on Thursday, April 11th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. The Funeral Mass will be on Friday, April 12th at 10:00 AM at St. Patrick Church, 114 King Street in Larkspur. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Patrick Church in John’s memory.
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