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<p><em>Daniel Richard “Dan” Crooks</em> was born March 2, 1944 in Gary, IN to Clifford and Mary Crooks. While Canadians themselves, Clifford and Mary immigrated to America shortly before giving birth to Dan and his younger brother. Dan and his family moved to Buffalo, NY just as he was starting school. Almost immediately, tragedy struck the Crooks family: Dan’s younger brother died suddenly, leaving Dan with a terrible memory that he would remember for the rest of his life. However, the remainder of his time in Buffalo was fulfilling and memorable. While attending St. Rose of Lima Elementary, Dan started to blossom academically and musically. He fell in love with playing the piano at an early age, and during this period he was considered a child prodigy and participated in several recitals. Sadly, he tired of playing before he started high school and didn’t play again, although his love of music stayed with him the rest of his life. At St. Joseph’s High School, Dan continued his academic excellence and, as a senior, was elected president of the school’s National Honor Society. Dan also developed into an exceptional athlete and a class leader. He lettered in track and football, the latter being his favorite. During senior year, the St. Joe Marauders were undefeated due, in no small part, to Dan’s efforts. As a stand-out defensive player, Dan was one of two players who were inducted into the St. Joseph’s Football Hall of Fame. He was also voted by his fellow students to the school’s class leader council.</p>
<p>Dan wanted to go to the United States Military Academy at West Point, so he sought and was awarded an appointment from his U.S. congressman, Thaddeus Dulski. On July 2, 1962, Dan stepped off the bus at West Point along with his future classmates. The first impression his classmates had of Dan was his physical appearance. His height was average, but his chest was powerful. Tipping the scales at 200 pounds, he was 50 pounds heavier than everyone else at his height, and it was all muscle. Dan played football for Army his plebe year and dominated intramural sports, helping his companies win several championships. While reserved and not one for idle chatter, Dan had a good sense of humor, was easy to talk with and, above all, always had a positive attitude. He looked at every problem as an opportunity and encouraged others to do the same. During his senior year, the time came for the soon-to-be graduates to purchase a car, and Dan was very specific in his ideal automobile. He wanted a Jaguar XKE. He found a 1963 Metallic Blue XKE advertised for sale in New York City. He and his roommate spent many pleasurable hours driving that Jag on the Palisades Parkway and surrounding areas that spring, usually at speeds higher than those posted. Dan graduated from West Point in June 1966 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army as an Artillery officer.</p>
<p>Following graduation, Dan completed the airborne and Ranger courses at Fort Benning, GA. Then, along with his classmates, he departed for Vietnam in 1967. Dan was assigned to the 6-71st Artillery Regiment, which was a mobile HAWK missile battalion located in Cam Ranh Bay, as a forward observer. He was also selected to be a general’s aide-de-camp. Dan was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions. The next two years, 1969 to 1971, Dan was assigned to the 8th Infantry Division, located in Germany. That completed his military career; he resigned his commission in 1971 to attend Stanford University, graduating with an MBA in 1973.</p>
<p>After a year with Texas Instruments, Dan joined Anthony Industries in Southern California in 1975. While there, Dan moved rapidly upward, culminating as a vice president and GM of the Anthony Pools division. Dan was known for his accomplishments, his innovation skills, his management style (which made people want to work with him), and, as in his past endeavors, his positive attitude. It was also at this time when Dan met and married Dolly, who would be his third wife. Dolly and Dan remained married for 11 years, divorcing in 1993. </p>
<p>After seven years with Anthony Industries, Dan acted on his entrepreneurial ambitions and, in 1982, became the president and CEO of Datatron, a small company in the fledging and mercurial computer industry. In the company’s distribution division was a new and very popular dot-matrix printer named Epson, which the company had an exclusive license for the entire United States. Everything looked perfect, Datatron’s core business was profitable and the new printer was in strong demand. Unfortunately, over the next few years Datatron’s product line was being outdated by newer products faster than anticipated, and Epson, once a foothold in America, revoked their distribution license. These actions happened so quickly that it was impossible for Dan and his management team to keep Datatron going. At the same time, Dan was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he decided to self-medicate himself instead of seeking medical help. These stressful events led to his untimely death. Dan died June 1, 1994; he was only 50 years old. Dan was survived by his mother. He was not married, nor did he have any other surviving parent, siblings, children, or any known relatives.</p>
<p>Dan is remembered by his classmates and business associates as intelligent, reserved, capable, reliable and a very fine person. Some adjectives his classmates use when describing Dan are “solid,” “a rock,” “positive,” and “dependable.” We will all miss Dan.</p>
<p><em>— Deme Clainos, classmate</em></p>
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