Michael R. Crook was born May 24th, 1946, in North Platte, Nebraska, and died October 17, 2019, in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Mike enlisted in the Navy in 1966, serving on three different submarines: the Plunger, the Barb, and the William H. Bates, receiving several medals, and singing in the Navy Bluejackets choir. He was honorably discharged on November 20, 1973.

Mike was a successful businessman, and building on his nuclear training in the Navy, he worked at Three-Mile Island in 1979 overseeing the transport of hazardous materials across state lines. He later worked for NUS (Nuclear Utility Services) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, managing employees constructing various nuclear sites. He then worked for Brown and Root Services in Houston, TX, overseeing marketing and proposal management, and traveling extensively across the globe, most memorably to McMurdo Station and the South Pole in Antarctica to gather information for supporting the National Science Foundation. Mike also worked in proposal management for Allied Signal Aerospace in Phoenix, Arizona, and finally, as Vice President of Business Development for SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He ended his career as a consultant, and finally retired fully before moving to Suamico, Wisconsin in 2015.

While working for Brown and Root Services, Mike decided to return to school, and graduated from Le Tourneau University with a B.S. in Business Management in 1995. Later he attended graduate school and graduated with honors from Regis University in 2009 achieving a Masters in Business Administration.

Mike continued to enjoy singing after leaving the Navy and performed with the Phoenicians, a barbershop chorus based in Phoenix, AZ. His greatest joy after retiring was his involvement with the Erickson Center for the Arts in Curtis, MI. Having played the accordion as a child, he picked it up again and played for Follywood and the Evening of Piano held at the Center. He even tried his hand at acting and surprised all of us when he was cast as the wizard in the Wizard of Oz. He also took on several roles in murder mysteries performed amongst the diners at Chamberlin's Inn, also in Curtis.

Mike was preceded in death by his father, Russell, his mother Mary, and his brother Marc.

Mike is survived by his loving wife Margo and her sister Cynthia Weiss, his sister Nedra and her husband Art Miller, his son Steve and his wife Kristen Crook and their children, and daughter Dana and her children. He was also loved by four international music students and various professors who maintained contact with Mike and traveled to Michigan each summer, if possible, to perform at the Erickson Center.

A Visitation will be on Friday, Nov. 1st from 12:00-2:00 PM at the Slater-Butala Funeral Home, 132 W. Main St., Genoa, IL. 60135.  Burial will follow at 2 PM at the Genoa Cemetery, Genoa, IL. with full military honors.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Erickson Center for the Arts, N9224 Saw-Wa-Quato, P.O. Box 255, Curtis, MI. 49820.