I suspect that Bob was not widely known outside of IBM Endicott. I'm
not sure he ever attended a SHARE, for example. But he was a
wonderful person and I wanted to let people know who were at IBM
Endicott at one time but may not be aware of his passing. His wife,
Kay, was manager of the REXX development group at the time of my
disability retirement in Jan. 1991.
I am including the obituary from today's [Binghamton, NY] Press & Sun
Bulletin below.
Kent Taylor
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Jon Robert "Bob" Crofoot of Tucson, AZ
Jon Robert "Bob" Crofoot, 74 years old, passed away peacefully
February 25, 2010 in Tucson, AZ. Bob was born September 27, 1935 in
Auburn, NY. He was the son of the late Neal Page Crofoot and Helen
McCue Crofoot. Bob grew up in Syracuse, NY and graduated from the SUNY
College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Syracuse University.
On July 18, 1970 Bob married Kathryn "Kay" Krueger of Bad Axe, MI.
They lived for many years in Newark Valley, NY and Endicott, NY, where
Bob was a computer programmer and technical writer for IBM. They
became full time residents of SaddleBrooke, AZ in 2007. Known for his
colorful personality, Bob was at heart a very kind and gentle man and
extremely witty. He enjoyed reading about the latest scientific
developments, particularly in space exploration and astronomy. He was
a member and former secretary of the SaddleBrooke Skygazers (he called
them the "Skygeezers"), and a past president of the IBM Personal
Computer Club in Endicott. Bob had a wide range of interests in such
diverse fields as painting and drawing, woodworking, rock collecting
and geology, cooking, pottery, linguistics, welding, photography,
travel, and genealogy. He had an inquiring and creative mind, liked to
experiment, and was always thinking of new things to try. Despite
serious health problems in recent years, he was able to pursue many of
his favorite activities until the end of his life. Bob is survived by
his wife Kay and a sister-in-law, Barbara A. Krueger, of Saginaw,
Michigan. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 2,
at Vistoso Funeral Home, 2285 E. Rancho Vistoso Blvd., Oro Valley, AZ.
Memorials may be made to the American Lung Association. To leave an
online condolence please visit www.vistosofuneralhome.com 544-2285
