Thomas George Crabbe

Preceded in death by his wife, Joan Crabbe, and his son Leland Crabbe. Survived by: son E.J. Crabbe (Cindy Crabbe); daughters Tena Catlett (Larry Catlett) and Mary Gershwin; grandchildren Ron, Jamie, Susan, Cheryl, Tom, Dean, Inanna; six great-grandchildren Andrew, Brent,Wesley, Georgio, Margot, Allegra; and his siblings Anne, Evelyn, Gerald and Don.

He was born in Dugger, Indiana to Leland and Susie Crabbe. Decades later, he told his children of humid, heavy summer afternoons in rural Indiana and diving into pools created by abandoned limestone quarries. He talked about walking with his brother Gerald up the dirt road into town as they tried to sell wild berries during the depression.

When he was about 15, his family moved to Gilman, Illinois. In 1944, he graduated from high school and joined the navy. He was stationed first in San Francisco, then crossed the Pacific in a small ship, to serve in the Philippines.

After the navy, he came to Colorado and attended the University of Denver on the GI bill. He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering and married Joan McGranahan (of Denver, Colorado). Together, they raised their four children in Littleton, Colorado.

He worked as an electrical engineer, including work on computers in the 1950s and on cosmic ray research in the 1960s. At the end of his career, he served as a faculty member at Red Rocks Community College.

After losing his beloved wife, Joan, to cancer in 1988, he showed us all that life can go on and that suffering can give way to sweetness and growth. He courageously embraced life again with dance, music, travel and deep friendships. In his later years, he loved visiting Lee and his family in New York City, California, and then in Maryland. He enjoyed donuts with his daughters on Saturdays, breakfast with his son on Sundays, long walks in Cheesman Park, and private dance lessons.

He lived his final years at Brookdale Park Place, where he made new friends and earned the love and appreciation of all who knew him.

Services to be scheduled.