A Celebration of Life service for former Emmetsburg resident William "Bill" D. Cronk of Alexandria, MN will be held Saturday, June 25. Visitation is from 10 a.m. until 12 noon, followed by a service at noon at the Martin-Mattice Funeral Home in Emmetsburg. Pastor Judy DePue will officiate.
The family requests that to honor Bill's life, please wear camo/hunting colors or Western wear to the Celebration of Life.
William Dean Cronk, son of Joy Willard and Arlene (Gilbert) Cronk, was born August 11, 1949 in Spencer. He lived with his family in Ruthven for a few years before moving to rural Cylinder where his father was a hired farm worker. Bill lived on that farm near Cylinder, with his parents and two older brothers, Dennis and Charles.
Bill went to school all 12 years at Emmetsburg Community School, graduating in 1967. During his years in school, Bill developed a life long friendship with Roger Maaland. Following high school, both Bill and Roger attended Iowa Lakes Community College and Bill graduated with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Farm Equipment Mechanics in 1969. Bill and Roger both joined the Emmetsburg Fire Department and Bill served for 13 years.
Bill was united in marriage to Linda Schmeling and they were blessed with two children, Cindy in 1970 and Chad in 1971. They made their home in Emmetsburg where both Cindy and Chad graduated from Emmetsburg High School.
Bill loved the outdoors. He was sports minded and loved trap shooting, hunting and fishing. He opened Cronk’s Sporting Goods Store and operated it until its sale in 1978. Bill taught Chad to shoot his BB gun at an early age.
Bill was hired by Terry LeClair as a bookkeeper for Thermogas in Emmetsburg, later being promoted to Plant Manager. The group of guys at Thermogas became life long friends and often talked about their annual fishing trips together. This group of friends shared many fun family times together.
In 1988 Bill was married to Lee Anne Bachman. They made their home on an acreage just outside of Emmetsburg. She and her young daughter, Teralee enjoyed sharing their life’s journey together with Bill.
In 1989 Bill took the Plant Manager’s position in Sibley where he managed propane plants in two locations. While living in Sibley, Bill served on the Fire Department for two years. Before long, Bill began to learn about being a 4-H dad, as well as participating in the annual Bachman family Christmases and their annual summer campouts where “Uncle Bill” became quite popular.
In 1991 Bill moved his family to an acreage in the Parkers Prairie, MN area (Rose City) where he managed the Skelgas Propane Company in Alexandria, earning the honor of Manager of the Year along with a cruise vacation. When it was sold out to another company, Bill worked for Sun Opta as the Cost Accountant before retiring at the age of 62. Bill taught Tera to shoot a gun when they were at “the farm” in Parkers Prairie. The three of them also enjoyed standing on the long driveway and watching the northern lights and the fireflies together.
Bill, Lee and Tera always enjoyed hosting friends and relatives who visited their farm, especially Chad and his family, Dennis and Ginnie, Bob and Jane and Wayne. Bill loved deer hunting with his nephews, sister-in-law, Jan and brother-in-law, Randy. He had a passion for people, horses, his hunting dogs and county fairs. Bill enjoyed spending time with his wonderful neighbors, Al and Elaine Fyhrie. In 2008 Bill and Lee moved off the acreage into a home in Alexandria. In 2015 they moved to their present condominium.
Bill passed away Monday, March 14, 2022 at his home in Alexandria, MN, at the age of 72. He was preceded in death by his parents, Arlene and Joy Cronk; his brothers, Dale and Alan in infancy and Dennis; a grandson, Blake; and brother-in-law, Larry Bachman.
Bill is survived by his wife, Lee Anne Cronk of Alexandria, MN; daughter, Cindy Mart (Todd) of Estherville; son, Chad Cronk of Grimes; daughter, Teralee Miller (Jeremy Manos) of Burnsville, MN; brother, Charles Cronk (Janice) of Wisconsin Rapids, WI; sister-in-law, Virginia Cronk of Palm Desert, CA; grandchildren, Brady and Mason Mart of Estherville, Nathan and Alivia Cronk of Urbandale, and Isaac, Gloria and Tatyana Manos of Burnsville, MN; as well as many other relatives and friends.
Condolences can be left at
www.martinmattice
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