Mr. William M. Crimmins' Obituary
William “Bill” McCarthy Crimmins passed away at home September 5, 2018 surrounded by his family. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts to William and Hanora Cremin on April 23, 1919. He served in the US 59th Cavalry Brigade - F Troop in Boston and is a WWII Army Veteran serving mostly in France rising to the rank of Sergeant. He married the love of his life Elizabeth “Betty” Grottendeck on April 27, 1946. Bill worked full time, attended night classes for 6 years, and earned a BA Engineering and Management degree from Northeastern University in 1952. Always trying to improve life for his family, Bill advanced with numerous engineering jobs which led to moves from Massachusetts to Connecticut then Michigan, California and Illinois. Locally, Bill worked at Brunswick in Muskegon from 1962 to 1972 where he was instrumental in their development of the automatic bowling scoring device. In 1984 Bill retired from the working world in Illinois and he and Betty returned to live in one of their favorite places, Muskegon! They became involved in St Francis de Sales Parish where they were choir members for many years. They were also members of the Muskegon Irish American Society, where he was Irish Person of the Year in 2013, and the Knights of Columbus. They also enjoyed playing bridge and other activities with their numerous friends. He loved to travel and oh, boy did he love to share his life experiences, including reminding us that he was a thoroughbred Irishman and kissing that Blarney Stone! He is preceded in death by his loving wife, parents, daughter, Susan Roush; daughter, Elizabeth Cunningham; grandson, Vincent Panozzo; son-in-law, Thomas Roush; siblings, Brother Gerard Crimmins, Sister Helen Crimmins, Sister Catherine Crimmins, Father Francis Crimmins, Helen Pistorio, and Mary De Rosa. He is survived by his children, Maureen (Bob) Farag, Joanne Crimmins, Claire (Duane) Panozzo, Michael (Kelly) Crimmins, Regina (Greg) Gardiner, Mary (John) Starks, Bill (Linda) Crimmins; son-in-law, Michael Cunningham; 27 grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. His life will live on through each of us and his stories repeated for many years to come. He will be missed but can never be forgotten. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, September 11 at 11AM at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church with Rev. Fr. Charles Hall presiding. Visitation with the family will be held on Monday, September 10 from 2-4PM and 6-8PM at The Walburn Chapel, 1547 W. Sherman Blvd., 231-759-8565, and one hour prior to the service. A Rosary service will be held at 7PM Monday evening. Interment will take place at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed to ALS of Michigan. Please feel free to visit the family’s online guestbook at www.sytsemafh.com.
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