BELFAST – Charles J. Cronin died quietly at home Oct. 4, 2005, in Belfast, surrounded by family, after living for many years with the challenges of Parkinson’s disease. Born Dec. 7, 1924, in Woburn, Mass., Chuck was one of four children of Charles Jerome and Mary (Shea) Cronin. His youth was spent in Stoneham, Mass., where he played on hockey and baseball teams, including semi-pro ball, and began a lifetime passion for golf, playing in dozens of tournaments, and patiently teaching family and friends. Chuck enlisted and served for three years in the U.S. Navy during World War II as Radioman 3rd Class, receiving several medals for service in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters. Chuck graduated from the four-year program at Cambridge School of Design in Cambridge, Mass., and began his 45-year career in art and graphic design, beginning in Boston and continuing in Bangor. Included in his significant portfolio of advertising and trademarks are Dead River Corporation, Bar Harbor Ban-king and Trust, Bangor and Aroostock Railroad, Mathews Brothers, and Darling’s automotive company. Dozens of community organizations or institutions have benefited by the artwork created by Chuck and his wife, Anne, also a graduate of the design school. These include Bangor Symphony Orchestra, Colby College’s Lancaster Course, Bangor YWCA, Unitarian Church, and the Bangor Community Chorus. His fine-art work, including watercolors and pen and ink drawings, warms and inspires and is cherished and loved for its simplicity of line and color. Chuck was a singer and actor, and will be remembered for his rich baritone voice and handsome stage presence. He began performing with a few Boston buddies singing for radio shows in the 1940’s, and, when he moved to Maine with his young family in 1958, he joined the Savoyards, later the Bangor Community Theater, performing in lead roles with South Pacific, Camelot, Oklahoma, and dozens more. With the Penobscot Theater, Chuck performed in Noises Off, King Lear, Sabrina Fair and several other productions. He was also regularly seen in television ads as the Tall Man for Sleepers clothing store, among other ads. Chuck performed in the Keith, Cronin, and Hall trio and the Bangor Community Chorus for delighted audiences at well over 100 community functions. As a soloist, Chuck sang for the Christian Science Church and the Unitarian Church in Bangor, and enthralled family and friends singing at many of his children’s and other family weddings. Chuck’s great passion for life, his keen wit and lively stories will be missed by all who knew him. Chuck is loved by his wife of 52 years, Anne Littlefield Cronin; and their five children, Deanna Carson and her husband, H. Stanley, and son, Dan, of Dedham, Catherine Cronin and her husband, Peter Webb, and children, Lee and Caroline of Rockport, Barry, and his wife, Monica, of Ellsworth, Kevin and his wife, Jamie, and children, Kyle and Julianne of Bangor, and son, John, of Portland. Chuck is lovingly remembered by his sister, Anne Therese “Nancy” Saunders of Ocala, Fla., wife of the late Robert E. Saunders, and their family; his brother, William F. and his wife, Mary Alice of Waltham, Mass. and their family; his nieces and nephews, the children of his late sister and brother-in-law, Colleen Mary and Paul F. Kirby of Shrewsbury, Mass.; and several cousins. His Maine family also includes Anne’s sister, Jeanne Hammond of Albion, wife of the late Earle M. Hammond, and their family. A memorial service to honor and remember Chuck will be held 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15 at The Boathouse on Commercial and Front Streets in Belfast. Contributions in his memory may be made to Penobscot Theater Company, 131 Main St., Bangor, ME 04401. <
CHARLES J. CRONIN
