James William Crick, Jr

‘Mr Post Office,’ A Friend To Many

James William Crick, Jr, of 7 Glover Avenue, died peacefully on July 13 at Danbury Hospital. He was born on July 17, 1930, in Bridgeport, the son of James William Crick, Sr, and Agnes Hughes Crick.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Joan Glover Crick. He was a loving father to his three children, Maureen Crick Owen and her husband, Cramer, of Newtown, James W. Crick III and his wife, Lesly, of Hilton Head, S.C., and Michael W. Crick and his wife, Lisa, of Middlebury.

He was “Poppy” to his grandchildren Matthew, William, Benjamin, Adam, and Mitchell Crick of Middlebury, and Emily Jane and James W. Crick IV of Hilton Head, S.C. He is also survived by his stepbrother, Ted Turiano of Danbury, and his brother-in-law, Lee Glover of Woodbury.

He was a 75-year member of St Rose Church of Newtown.

Mr Crick graduated from Newtown High School and proudly served in the Korean War for two years (1950–1952). He was “Mr Post Office” at Newtown Post Office for 41 years, 11 months, and one day, retiring on December 31, 1989. In the early years of his career, he worked at Edmond Town Hall, where the post office was then located in what is now the first selectman’s office suite. He moved with the post office to Queen Street in the early 1960s, and retired before the post office moved to its current location on Commerce Road.

He was so helpful to many people during his tenure and was a humble man and friend to all.

“Because of his job, Jim knows so many people that no matter where we go on vacation, we always seem to see someone that he knows,” Joan Crick told The Newtown Bee in 1996.

He was appointed corporator of Newtown Savings Bank and became trustee, serving on the Board of Directors since 1986. It became “his bank,” according to family members.

Mr Crick was an associate member of Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps until a few years ago, often driving the medic truck to the hospital during ambulance calls regardless of the time of day.

Golf was his game and he belonged to Newtown Country Club for 26 years. In his youth, he was caddie master at Newtown Country Club. He later served as president and director of Newtown Country Club Realty Corporation, which owns the Newtown Country Club property.

He served on the Newtown Borough Zoning Board of Appeals, first becoming an alternate in 1974 and then as a member who served for nearly a quarter of a century (including chairman for at least five years).

Mr Crick was appointed sexton and treasurer of Newtown Village Cemetery. His love was the Ram Pasture and the care of it. The wonderful sign posted in Ram Pasture was his endeavor, adding a historic ambiance to the land. He and his wife, Joan, were both part of the small group assembled at the property in August 1998 when the new sign went up, keeping an eye on the new cream colored and gold accented marker as it was attached to brackets on the cement pillar at the corner of South Main and Sugar Streets.

“Ram Pasture is one of my keen interests,” he told The Bee in 1996. “Years ago it used to go to hay and only was mowed at the end of the summer. Now we try to keep it mowed and looking good at all times.”

Jim became a postcard collector, mainly of Newtown and surrounding areas. His collection was displayed at C.H. Booth Library in 2003, and many of his postcards turned up in the two Images of America photograph books edited by Town Historian Dan Cruson. Mr Crick was also generous in frequently loaning his postcards to The Bee, which used them for its popular “Way We Were” column.

Jim Crick’s life was inextricably woven into the fabric of Newtown. His parents came to Newtown from the Bridgeport-Stratford area when he was just three months old and moved into a home near what is now Sand Hill Plaza. He attended Newtown’s public schools and even spent his working life within the town’s borders.

In 1996, Jim and his wife were named grand marshals of the Newtown Labor Day Parade, the route of which passes right by the home they have lived in on Glover Avenue for decades. For their many contributions to the community, the couple was tapped to serve in the honorary position by the Newtown Summer Festival Committee.

“We were really surprised to be to be asked,” Mrs Crick told The Newtown Bee that summer. “We feel it is such an honor.”

Ten years after being named grand marshals of the parade, the Cricks celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. The Cricks’ family and many of their close friends gathered in April at The Dana-Holcombe House to celebrate the occasion.

No other location would have been suitable for the party. It was at the Yankee Drover Inn, after all — the longstanding Newtown business that was located at 29 Main Street until it burned in January 1981 — that the young couple’s wedding reception was held so many years ago. When the Cricks decided to host a 50th anniversary celebration no other location would fit the bill.

The Cricks were married in 1956 in St Rose Rectory by the Reverend Thomas Lyons, SJ, a friend of Jim’s family from Fairfield University. After their reception they spent their first married night in New York City, and then drove to Florida for three weeks.

After their honeymoon the young couple rented an apartment in a house owned by their former first grade teacher, Jane Lynch, and her husband, Marty, on Riverside Road in Sandy Hook. The couple lived there for a few years, then purchased an acre of land in the Taunton area with the intention of building a house there. When the house at 7 Glover Avenue became available, the Cricks and their young family moved into The Borough instead.

Jim Crick lived his life for others, loved his family, and treated everyone with humor. He will be missed by all and remembered by many.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Monday, July 17 — what would have been Mr Crick’s 76th birthday — at St Rose of Lima Church in Newtown. Father Bob Weiss, pastor of St Rose, officiated.

Grandson Will Crick read a short story entitled “My Father” that had been written by Michael when he was 12 years old. Emily Jane Crick, a granddaughter, read a story that her father, Jim Crick III, had written when he was also about 12 years old. “The Two-Hundred Pound Pumpkin” was fictional but based on a true story about Jim.

Readings were offered by Matthew (a grandson) and Michael (a son). Jim Crick III offered reflections that he and his sister wanted to share, including stories of Jim’s life.

“My brother told everyone that my father said at their 50th anniversary party, that the most important things are family and friends,” Maureen (Crick) Owen said. “My brother said that my father would not want to be mourned but rather remembered for the good times he had with his family and friends.”

Music for the funeral was not the standard fare for a Catholic funeral Mass, Father Bob pointed out during Monday morning’s service. The selections were special requests Jim had made known in advance, and included “When The Saints Go Marching In” as Mr Crick’s casket was brought into the sanctuary and then “The Entertainer” during the recessional. The funeral concluded with all in attendance being asked to stand and sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

During the Presentation of Gifts, the family added a few symbolic gifts to go along with the wine, water, and host elements. The gifts were presented by Jim’s grandchildren and included a chicken, a golf club, a Boston terrier (“His dog Maddie already misses him,” Mrs Owen said this week), and a picture of Jim with his seven grandchildren.

“His eyes always lit up when he saw them,” Mrs Owen said. “Each and every one of them was so important to him.”

Burial followed in Newtown Village Cemetery. The pallbearers were Lee Glover, Joseph Humeston, Earl “Mac” Mehuren, Ed Sega, R. Scudder Smith, and Russell F. Strasburger, Jr.

Donations may be made in Jim’s memory to Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Association, PO Box 344, Newtown CT 06470, or to Newtown Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1, Inc, PO Box 3911, Newtown CT 06470

Funeral arrangements were handled by Honan Funeral Home in Newtown.

The Newtown Bee        July 28, 2006