Cromie, Michael A. (03/13/39–08/12/10). Mike Cromie attended Grinnell for the first two years of college (1957-59) and was on the staff for the College’s annual year book (1959 Cyclone). As a fellow Rawsonite, I remember him as a guy with a magnetic personality: outgoing and very competitive. After the freshman football team lost to Coe, on the ride back to Grinnell, Mike berated himself for not returning an intercepted pass for a touchdown. He engaged in pranks against other hall mates, nonsensical prepping activities and running a snow removal contracting service. Mike was a good guy and a good friend who will always have a place in my heart.
Mike transferred to Knox College, from which he received a B.A. degree in Psychology in 1963. He subsequently pursued a Ph.D. program in experimental psychology at the University of Florida and Northern Illinois University, but did not receive any graduate degrees.
Instead, Mike worked as a market research analysts and a salesman for book publishers. Towards the end of his life he was a real estate broker in Arlington Heights and Palatine, Illinois. Mike loved golf.
After a long battle with cancer, he died of the disease at his home in Deerfield, Illinois on August 12, 2010. Mike was survived by his wife, Sherrie (Krase) Cromie, two children, three step-children and five grandchildren. “He was a warm and loving man,” said his widow. (Obituary, Michael A, Cromie, Chicago Tribune, Aug. 15, 2010.) By David A. Nixon
