We regret to advise of the death of Lieutenant John Bruce Cronyn, PEng, (Ret’d) in London, ON on 23 February 2004 at the age of 84 years.
John was a veteran of the Second World War. He served in the 23rd Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers and saw action throughout France and the Low Countries. He was commanding Number 1 Platoon during Operation BERLIN in which British paratroops were evacuated from Arnhem immediately following Operation MARKET GARDEN in September 1944. At one time, he was loaned to Military Intelligence 9 (MI9) who figured heavily in the planning for Op BERLIN. Their duties, among other things, focused on facilitating the escape of Allied prisoners of war and the return to the United Kingdom of evaders. A detachment of MI9 accompanied 2nd Canadian Corps throughout Northwest Europe.
After graduating in engineering from the University of Toronto in 1947, John joined Labatt’s Brewing where he served as a master brewer, Executive Vice President, Director, Vice Chairman of the Board and finally an Honorary Director over a period of 49 years. He left Labatt's in 1976 to become a director of a number of public and crown corporations, including Canada Trust, London Life, Union Gas and Ontario Hydro.
John was always active in community and charitable organizations. He was past president of the London Chamber of Commerce and Vice President of the Ontario and Canadian Chambers. He was also a past president of the Boy Scouts and the Victorian Order of Nurses of London and past warden of St. Paul’s Cathedral. His interest in politics was evidenced by his presence on advisory boards of all levels of government and, as a volunteer, he chaired a committee for Premiers Robarts and Davis that re-organized the operations of the Province of Ontario and of Ontario Hydro.
A celebration of John’s life was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral in, London on Saturday, 28 February 2004 at 11 AM. A reception followed at The London Club. John will be interred in the Woodland Cemetery in London. {dcDec19WD} [zsd, zpp]
