PATRICK ADRIAN CROTTY 

January 11, 1944 – December 21, 2025: Age 81

Some dreams I had so long ago are memories today.

Patrick came from humble beginnings, but moved on to have a good life, concluding that hard work does pay off. He achieved advanced degrees in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and did post-graduate work at the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. He was ever grateful for several mentors who encouraged him to study math and science.

Pat grew up among a mix of nationalities and religions in the working-class community of Maynard, Massachusetts, a “melting-pot” mill town with a long and rich history. Born of Irish and Polish heritage to John Crotty and Sophie Wasiuk, Pat grew up in a family of five children with siblings Jack, Barbara, David, and Eddie. His father worked in the local mills. They lived frugally as money was hard to come by. Everyone helped out in some way. Pat was just a boy when he learned from his father about composting, gardening, and respecting the environment.

At the age of eight, Pat started working in farmers’ fields picking produce for 50 cents an hour. He turned over his monthly earnings to his father who “paid” him $1 to spend as he pleased. He was working steadily by age 13. He was a stockboy, power tool assembler, and cleaner at a local hardware store. He became proficient in “fix it” work around his childhood home. This skill continued to pay dividends throughout his life – “fix it yourself if you can”! At 16 he became the walk-up teller at a town bank from 3 – 5 pm each afternoon after the main bank closed. While at this job, there were times when he had as much $1 million in cash in his personal vault. In his spare time, he enjoyed sports, especially baseball and tennis.

Pat snared a beauty for his wife in nurse Judith Gilbert in 1967 and together they raised two wonderful children who have made him proud - now good citizens with families of their own. He spent time in the doldrums when Judy died of cancer in 1991, but was rescued by Wanda Taunton in 1993 and together he lived another happy chapter with her among a blended family of six children, twelve grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and one more “on the way”. Many happy family events enriched their lives through the years.

Pat graduated from high school in 1961 and enrolled at the University of Massachusetts engineering school. He also enrolled in ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) which was required of all male freshmen and sophomores. He selected the US Air Force course because he wanted a career in flying. But that was not to be; in the second grade he suffered an eye injury from a stone-filled snowball. The Air Force deemed the damage uncorrectable, preventing him from being accepted into the flight program. Nonetheless, part of his commitment to ROTC was to serve three years with the USAF. He reported for duty in 1969 as a 1st Lieutenant at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota and concluded his military service as a Captain in 1972. He was a bioenvironmental engineer assigned to the 804th Medical Group.

In March 1972, Pat transferred his commission to the US Public Health Service (an all-officer uniformed service) and was assigned to the Indian Health Service in Phoenix, AZ. He recalled leaving Grand Forks in below-zero weather and arriving in Phoenix in above 100-degree weather. He served four years (1972 – 1976) building water supply and wastewater disposal facilities for Native American communities, including those living at the base of the Grand Canyon. He rode a horse or walked down to reach them.

In 1977, Pat accepted a position with the US Environmental Protection Agency in Denver. He held several positions in drinking water, wastewater, and groundwater protection programs. In 1995, he left EPA as the head of the Region’s Drinking Water Program and was detailed to the American Water Works Association in Denver. There, he developed a quality improvement program for water and wastewater utilities in the US and Canada, which remain active today. He retired in 1999. Pat and Wanda celebrated his 30-year military career with their first cruise (Tokyo to Hong Kong via South Korea and mainland China). They were hooked on seeing the world by ship – Pat in particular. He loved being on ships.

In retirement, Pat was not content with being idle. He continued to fill his time with a variety of activities: being a docent at the Space Odyssey, at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science; serving on two homeowner boards, and joining the Ft. Logan All Veterans Honor Guard, to name a few. His most rewarding activity, above all else, was spending time with his large family. He loved road trips through the west and particularly loved to travel to South Dakota through Scottsbluff, Nebraska (always had to stop and walk to the top) to visit Wanda’s family home, a small farming community near the Missouri River. He loved the land, the history of the area, and her relatives – many deceased now but always a joyful time spent with her Aunts, Uncles, and cousins.

Pat traveled to all fifty states, all seven continents, and more than one hundred countries, meeting new people, making new friends, and learning about cultures and religions. Together with Wanda, they documented their adventures in a series of travelogues (she took notes, researched and wrote; he took photos, edited, and arranged for publication). He was an avid life-long learner and was full of energy and exuberance. He loved repartee, humor, traveling, Celtic music, playing cards (Canasta!), puzzling, reading, Boston teams (Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics) and being with people. No one was a stranger to him. He spoke his mind while being respectful of the knowledge and skill of others. He was a mentor to those who worked for him. Above all, though, was his love of family. They were his everything and he was loved and adored by each of them.

Now, Pat is doing other things, or perhaps nothing at all, in a place we all think of but truly know nothing about. His cremains will be at the Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver Colorado. If you have a mind to while driving by, smile and say “hi.” But for now, slainte mhaith and nazdrovje - toasts meaning roughly “to your health” in the languages of his Irish and Polish ancestors.

Pat will be buried on January 16, 2026, at 11:30 at Fort Logan National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105; The American Brain Foundation, Lewy Body Dementia Fund, 201 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55415; American Legion of Colorado, 7465 E. 1st Ave., Ste. D, Denver, CO 80230 for the benefit of disabled American military veterans/Comfort Warriors.

Patrick A. Crotty: beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin, friend. Gone too soon.