Thomas Kevin Crotty passed away suddenly on Sunday June 9th, 2024.
Tom is survived by his wife, Mary Crotty; sisters Terri (Daryl) Hummel, Traci (William) Miller, brother-in-law Thomas Carpenter; his former wife, Kathleen Crotty, and their children, Shannon Crotty (Will) Thwaites, Kerrigan Crotty, Clare Crotty; his step-children Kyle (Courtney) Hutchison, Kent Hutchison, and Sarah Hutchison; step-mother Carol Crotty; step-sisters Anita Allen, Barbara (Larry) Caudill, Amy (Rod) Boggs; a loving aunt, uncle, and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. He is preceded in death by his mother, R. Judith (Robert) Allen; father, Thomas C. Crotty; and sister, Tricia Carpenter.
Born in Mansfield, Ohio to Judy and Tom Crotty, Tom was a lively kid with a zest for life. He spent his days playing baseball, telling jokes, and (as the only boy of four children) tormenting his sisters. He was a 1978 Graduate of Mansfield Senior High School and recipient of the James S. Kemper Foundation Full 4 Year College Scholarship. He moved to San Antonio, Texas to attend Trinity University where he studied Business Management and Marketing. He graduated in 1982 and went on to work for AT&T and Lucent Technologies.
Tom’s knack for business led him to start many successful companies over his lifetime. He got his entrepreneurial start working on the MobiLan One, a wireless mobile computer lab he marketed to schools and businesses. Tom transformed the company into Wireless Information Networks (now WIN Connectivity) and grew it into the leading enterprise for providing cellular reception to high rise buildings across America.
Outside of his professional life, he was an avid sports fan and marathon runner. He could always be found watching baseball or the Ohio State Buckeyes. Tom instilled his love of running and strong work ethic in his daughters, and spent every Saturday morning in the fall for a decade cooking for the Sandburg Girls Cross Country team. He spent his weeknights as a volunteer magician with Open Heart Magic performing magic for hospitalized children.
Tom was passionate about providing his daughters many experiences. As a family they spent summers road tripping across the country in an RV, going to Cubs games, and hosting family and friends for beach weekends in St. Joseph, Michigan. He was an enthusiastic cook and took pride in entertaining with countless backyard barbecues, homemade pizza nights, and making enough smoked salmon and jerky to feed everyone he had ever met.
Tom lived the remainder of his life in Sanibel Island, Florida with Mary where he spent his days biking around the island and sitting under the pergola. He will be remembered as a passionate, hard working entrepreneur, energetic father, and caring brother.
“Nothing worth having ever came easy.”
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Tom’s memory to Open Heart Magic.
Funeral Home: Sheehy Funeral Home, Orland Park, IL
Website: https://www.sheehyfh.com