Wallace E Crosby

Wally Crosby of Edina passed away on May 18, at the ripe old age of 96. He had been in slowly declining health for some time, but—a day after a few games of eight-ball and a session playing his violin—was hastened suddenly to the end by a fall. Wally was born in Minneapolis in 1928 and grew up, with his twin younger brothers Keith and Kenny, in and around Minnehaha Creek. Wally graduated from Roosevelt High School, where he was a ski jumping champion. In the Roosevelt orchestra (where he played string bass) he met and soon married Joyce Carlson, a union that lasted more than 70 years. A gifted artist, Wally graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, seeding both a career in industrial design and a lifetime of wood and stone sculpting, oil painting, and mobile-making.

Joyce and Wally had a darn good time—skiing, camping, C Scow sailing, golfing, traveling, entertaining—for a good long time, moving from the Twin Cities area (a highlight was their years in Marine-on-St. Croix) to California and, for more than 20 years, Arizona before returning to Minnesota in 2012. Joyce passed away, at 90, in 2020. Wally is survived by daughter Cheryl Crosby (Terry Brown) of Edina, son Paul Crosby (Mary) of Boulder, CO, three grandsons, a great granddaughter and a great grandson. The family wishes to thank the staff and residents of The Waters of Edina for their care and friendship, Dr. Dan Sullivan and the care team at Methodist Hospital—every last one of them—for everything, and Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery for their help with final arrangements.