Date of Birth
March 21, 1963
Date of Death
November 5, 2022
Tom Crook, age 59, of Elburn, passed away surrounded by his family, wrapped in love and devotion, Saturday, November 5, 2022.
He was born March 21, 1963, in Geneva, IL, to proud and loving parents, William and Donna Crook.
Tom grew up in Lily Lake, IL and attended local schools while being instrumental in the care of his father who suffered tragically from Multiple sclerosis. It may have been where his work ethic was formed, but it was also where a special mother-son bond began to grow.
At the early age of 12, Tom worked at a local gas station before moving on to his “forever” career in all things road and asphalt construction and worked his way up to panel operator.
Tom first met Deborah Pinkerton when her sister dated Tom’s best friend. She was also a nurse’s aide and cared for his father when he fell ill. The time came when their paths crossed again, and this time more than just sparks flew. The inferno that followed blazed a trail to the altar and they were united in marriage on February 5, 1988. They began their new life together back in his hometown of Lily Lake before making 28 years of memories in Elburn.
He was a hard worker, dedicated to each job he held and was immensely proud of being a union man at Local 150.
Tom had an unbelievable amount of energy for anything and everything. When he was laid off for the winter, he took on a hobby or project and to be sure, each of those were bigger than life because he never did anything halfway. From remodeling, playing date night, to just mowing the lawn, Tom gave his whole heart and soul to everything, was “king of the details” and never stopped until the job was done, if not epically done. Even in his last weeks, you could find Tom laying bricks on his back patio. Nothing and no one could stop him, and even when declining health took the lead, it was only his body that was beaten, never his spirit. Tom took on the reins of President of Elburn Basketball for five years, coaching his sons and developed the “All-Star Spectacular” and made sure the fog machine was in full effect, much to the delight of the young basketball stars. He flashed a thumbs up sign or “rock and roll” in an instant, and though hand signals were silent, Tom never was. He ran at 110%, 110% of the time. The life of the party and larger than life, Tom took over a room as soon as he walked in with confidence, authenticity and that one-of-a-kind smile. He picked up golf at a later age and threw himself into the game until he mastered it. Racecars were the only thing that you could compare Tom to, and it is no wonder that he became a racing aficionado, transforming his basement into a love letter to the racetrack. His mind was always hungry for knowledge and never quit until he mastered whatever he put his heart and mind to. Tom’s legacy was that he always left a place better than when he found it, and that included the lives of all who knew him. Tom has left the world a duller place for his absence, but the mark he left was as indelible as it was everlasting.
He now leaves a loving wife, Deborah Lee Crook; two sons: Kit (Vanessa) Crook and Cody (Alanna Cattaneo) Crook; one granddaughter, Sofiia Crook; four nieces and nephews: Ted Crook, Jenny Crook, William “Billy” Norton and Elaine (Lannie) Zelazoski and a fantastic family of friends whose lives will never be the same.
He now joins his parents, William and Donna Crook; two siblings: Linda Runge and Willy (Doreen) Crook, and one niece, Cynthia Norton, who preceded him in death.
A memorial visitation will be from 10-12p.m., Saturday, November 12, 2022, with a service to follow at 12 p.m. Interment will be at Lily Lake Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Conley Outreach Community Services at https://conleyoutreach.org/donate., or to Garfield Farm Museum, Box 403, LaFox, IL 60147 or on line at www.garfieldfarm.org. Tributes and memories may be left on the Conley Funeral Home Facebook Page, or at www.conleycare.com.
A memorial service will follow visitation at noon., on Saturday Nov 12 , 2022.
A memorial visitation will be from 10-12 p.m., Saturday, November 12, 2022, at Conley Funeral Home.
Interment will be at Lily Lake Cemetery.
I am in the asphalt industry and this is where I met Tom. Unparalleled passion and treating people with respect were my first observations when I met him. Being in sales, traveling comes with the job. Tom opened his house up to me on one occasion and that is where I saw his tremendous pride in everything he does and his deepn love for his family.
Proud that I knew him. He will be missed. Peace Tommy.
Tom We will miss you very much, Particular your smile. May god give strength to your family to bear the loss they had. You will be remembered and will be in our prayers. May god help your soul to be rest in peace.
Jayesh Patel
Arrow Road Construction
Quality Control Dept
Our heartfelt condolences, Cody, to you and your family. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Bob and Jan
Heartfelt condolences to Cody and family. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Bob and Jan
Rest in peace my brother. I will always have fond memories of the times we had. You will never be forgotten.🤘
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Deborah
Sending you and your family my sincere condolences and love.
Tom brought a smile to anyone he flew with. He was always willing to push you out of your comfort zone, and to pick up the price if it did not work out. He would always push himself to perfection with anything he did, whether that was building models or learning a new trick. Always willing to share his knowledge to anyone, and would roll up his sleeve to help a fellow flyer out.
Going to miss him at those asphalt plants! He always had the big smile and welcomed you!! He always made you feel special I look forward to it cause he was my old time friend ! God speed my friend Your friend Pete Walker
Going to miss him at the asphalt plants He always welcomed me and everyone With a big smile and he was just glad to see you! I got to see one of his happiest moments at the plant is when his nephew was working at the same place! He told me that day that his dad would be so proud God speed my friend!!
Tommy, u are already greatly missed. I’ll always remember you as the teenager who visited our house with ur crazy friends. Loved u then and am sending my love to u today. Always that constant smile.
My sincere thoughts and prayers go to the Crook family on your loss of Tom. He was a special guy that no one will soon forget. I was his 5th grade teacher at Lily Lake Grade School. Tom always had a smile, a greeting, and he loved the classmates and being an integral part of the group. I would shake my head sometimes at his antics but he had a heart of gold. I was blessed to catch up with him 5 years ago and I am so glad we were able to do that.
Tom has a “special” place in Heaven and is keeping everyone there in stitches. God Bless Tom!
Pam Michel aka Miss Meyers
My prayers are with the Crook family on their loss. Tom was a special person and will be missed deeply. The Crook family has been a special family to me and my family. I remember When the family built their home in Lily Lake. Wonderful neighbors❤️
Wow. Deb and family, so sorry to here this sad news. Truly stunned. Where do I begin? Tommy was one of my oldest friends, growing up in diapers together! From kindergarten all the way to becoming parents, I have more memories than we have space to write them here (some I wouldn’t write about if there was room anyway!). Man, the stuff we did when we were kids. From playing with our tonka toy equipment in the sand boxes to playing baseball to bicycle riding to mini bikes to sleep overs in the backyards in tents (with a little late night mischief thrown in!). ………And then we grew up, both ending up in the road building industry, more than likely due to those tonka toys! When I bought my first asphalt plant, Tommy was there to help whenever we needed “expertise” to correct a problem, even going the extra mile to come to the plant to trouble shoot mix issues on IDOT jobs. He was a true friend, a quality human being! The kind that are very hard to come by. You will be truly missed my friend. Danny