Donald Abbott Croft

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death February 2, 2005, of retiree Donald Abbott Croft of West Falmouth at his home after a long illness. He was 79.

Donald Abbott Croft was born February 21, 1925 in Barnstable and was graduated in 1943 from Lawrence High School in Falmouth. He served in the U.S. Navy as a radio technician from 1943 to 1946, taking classes at the Massachusetts Radio School in Boston after World War II. In 1948 he joined the staff at F.V. Lawrence as an equipment operator, leaving in 1956 to manage a gas station for Forbes MacGregor.

Don Croft joined the Institution staff in September 1963 as a tool room clerk. In 1969 he transferred to work as an electrician’s helper in Facilities, and in 1974 was promoted to assistant electrician. In 1963 he was promoted to electrician, a position he held until his retirement in 1987. Don returned to the Institution on a casual basis until 1998.

A volunteer in the Falmouth Fire Department for many years, Don Croft enjoyed boating, gardening, shellfishing and restoring antique cars and trucks.

Survivors include his wife, Barbara (Bourne) Croft, of West Falmouth; a daughter, Donna Croft Adami; a granddaughter, Jennifer Adami Murphy; and a great-grandson, Brendan Murphy.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 12, at 11:00 a.m. at West Falmouth United Methodist Church on West Falmouth Highway.

Donations in Don Croft’s memory may be made to the West Falmouth United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 636, West Falmouth, MA 01574; the Visiting Nursing Association of Cape Cod, 1550 Falmouth Road, Centerville, MA 02532; or to Hospice of Cape Cod, 434 Route 134 Suite G1, South Dennis, MA 02660.