Cover photo for Lucille M. Cronkite's Obituary
Lucille M. Cronkite Profile Photo
1926 Lucille 2017

Lucille M. Cronkite

February 9, 1926 — September 19, 2017

CRONKITE, LUCILLE M.
of Kalamazoo

Lucille passed away on Tuesday evening, September 19, 2017 at Rose Arbor Hospice Residence. She was born in Chicago, IL, February 9, 1926, the only child of the late Rodney and Marion (Varkalis) Longdon. Lucille moved to Bloomingdale, MI during her teen years with her mother and stepfather and graduated from Bloomingdale High School. Following high school she moved to Kalamazoo and worked at the Upjohn Company, while living at the YWCA. It was in Kalamazoo that she met the love of her life, Neal Richard Cronkite, newly returned from WWII Naval Service. Lucille and Neal were united in marriage at the Kalamazoo Civic Theater on May 3, 1947. They were blessed to spend 70 anniversaries together. In addition to Upjohn, Lucille was employed by the Kalamazoo Public Schools, working at Arcadia and King-Westwood Elementary Schools, in food service. She is survived by her husband: Neal; five children: David (Karen) Cronkite of Tinley Park, IL, Steven (Deb) Cronkite of Kalamazoo, Rick (Sharon Pontius) Cronkite of Kalamazoo, Rodney (Wendy Cronkite-Ross) Cronkite of Burlington, WI, and Christie Cronkite-Sherson, of Grand Rapids, MI; seven grandchildren: Keri (Kevin) Bottom of Tinley Park, IL, Kelli (Dan) Rusnak of Orland Park, IL, Neal (Jennifer) Cronkite of Lansing, MI, Greg (Kelley) Cronkite of Whitefish Bay, WI, Tyler (Julia) Cronkite of Rifle, CO, Cameron Cronkite of Chicago, IL and Sierra Cronkite of Milwaukee, WI; and nine great-grandchildren: Rylan, Karly and Gavin Bottom, Grayden, Roan and Evie Rusnak, Ian and Jonah Cronkite and Charlie Cronkite. A special thanks to the staff at Rose Arbor for the thoughtful and loving care provided to Lucille and her family. Honoring her wishes, cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held at 12:00 PM on Monday, Sept. 25, at St. Andrew Community Church, 3631 Covington Road, where friends may visit with the family from 11:00 AM until the time of service. Rev. James Dyke will officiate. Private family interment will be in Grand Prairie Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to St. Andrew Community Church or Rose Arbor Hospice Residence.

**MEMORIALS**

St. Andrew Community Church
3631 Covington Ave.
P. O. Box 2893
Kalamazoo, MI 49088
269-649-4296

Rose Arbor Hospice
c/o Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan
222 N. Kalamazoo Mall, Suite 100
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
269-345-0273
www.hospiceswmi.org

Visitation

SEP 25. 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

St. Andrews Community Church
3631 Covington Rd.
Kalamazoo, MI, US, 49001

Memorial Service

SEP 25. 12:00 PM

St. Andrews Community Church
3631 Covington Rd.
Kalamazoo, MI, US, 49001
To order memorial trees in memory of Lucille M. Cronkite, please visit our tree store.

Guestbook

Photo Gallery

Visits: 3

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree

Send a Card

Send a Card