A kind, generous and caring man who was an avid reader
MELROSE — John J. (Jack) Cronin passed away unexpectedly on August 23 at Melrose Wakefield Hospital. He was a resident of Melrose for almost 40 years. He was the loving and caring son of the late John E and Ethel (Hickey) Cronin. He was the loving brother of Richard “Skip” Cronin and the late Judy Cronin of Hanover.
He was the devoted companion of Mary (O’Neill) Bates of Saugus for forty years, and her son, Brendan Bates.
He leaves his loving dog “sweetie pie” Tory, who will miss all his treats.
Jack is also survived by his three nephews, Michael, Stephen and Christopher Cronin and one niece, Caitlin Pardo, who he affectionately referred to when they were young as the “super kids”, and their spouses and their eight children. He was happy to celebrate his 80 birthday with them all this past May.
Jack was born and brought up in West Roxbury and graduated from Boston English High School and Boston State College. Upon graduation he worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Special Agent and Compliance Supervisor in the Boston, Hartford, Conn. and Washington DC offices. He later worked for EPA and retired as the Inspector General of the Veteran’s Administration in Bedford. He served on the Melrose Housing Authority and was a Real Estate Agent also in Melrose.
Jack enjoyed retirement for thirty years, spending every morning sitting at the head of the table at Bread n’ Bits of Ireland in Melrose where he made many friends and enjoyed sparring with the “liberals” around the table. An avid reader, he spent many hours and money at Barnes and Nobles buying books for himself and many others. If he knew your interests, he bought books for you on those subjects. Several weeks ago he made his last visit to that bookstore. He cherished his eight floor to ceiling bookcases with books on multiple subjects. He also enjoyed, martial arts, Japanese Art and collecting guns, rifles, knives and swords. He made many trips to Ireland and Canada tracing his Irish ancestry for which he was very proud. Jack was a kind, generous and caring man who never spoke an unkind word about anyone, a trait to be admired.
He was a member of AFNA – Association of Federal Narcotics Agents; NRA – The National Rifle Association; Republican National Committee; The North Shore Irish Association; Melrose Knights of Columbus, and the Lions Club.
Visitation was held at the Gately Funeral Home, 79 W. Foster St. Melrose, on Sunday, August 28, 2022 from 2 – 5 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial was held at St. Mary’s Church, 9 Herbert St. Melrose on Monday, August 29 at 10 a.m. Interment at Wyoming Cemetery in Melrose. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Memorial contributions may be made in Jack’s name to Tunnels to Towers at www.T2t.org/donate. To send a message of condolence please visit www.gatelyfh.com.
