David Cronk

Dave Cronk was a remarkable man, self-taught and self-made, a man who built every bit of his success on his own steam. “You can’t buy your Utopia, you’ve got to build it,” he always said, and he went about every day working, building, and earning the wonderful life he lived. Dave was a father and a great and loyal friend to many. Dave built his Utopia and a life we were so lucky to have shared.

Dave’s story began on a cold winter day in 1940, in the bustling city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Those were anxious times in this country, which watched as the world waged war yet again overseas. Amid these uncertain times, William and Gladys (Curren) Cronk found a reason to celebrate on February 10, 1940, with the birth of a baby boy, a son they named David.

Dave was the baby of five children on the family farm, located at 9th Street and O Avenue in Mattawan, joining Marcille, Barb, Bob and Shirley. The family raised saddle horses and some hay on the family homestead, which Dave’s dad bought from his dad, a big, beautiful farmhouse built in the mid-1800s. Dave’s dad worked as a foreman for the Consumers Power Company, so Dave and his siblings always had plenty of chores to attend to around the farm.

Even still, Dave found time for fun as a kid, and loved making trouble with his BB gun! Dave attended Mattawan Schools, and by the time he got to Mattawan High School, he found better ways to find trouble — girls!

After he graduated in 1958, Dave decided to get a change of scenery, and moved out to California for a few months. He eventually returned, recharged and ready to begin the next chapter in his life.

Back in his hometown, he reconnected with a pretty young woman from his graduating class, Juanita Morgan, and they began dating. Eventually they fell in love, and were married in 1961.

Dave went to work for the Kalamazoo Police Department for awhile, and later worked at AAA Michigan as a claims adjuster. He didn’t particularly enjoy working for someone else, but it paid the bills and provided for his family, which was growing. Dave and Juanita welcomed two fine children over the years, their daughter Julie and their son Tim, who made Dave so proud. He exposed them both to so many of his hobbies, taking them with him when he went to the airport to work on his plane or taking them to the shooting range. He wasn’t a doting father but he always had time to take the kids with him.

Eventually, Dave decided to go into business for himself in 1973, and built the Dairy Isle ice cream shop in Schoolcraft — literally building the location himself. This was the start of his entrepreneurship, which became his true passion. He didn’t stop there, either. He built the Kwik Stop in Schoolcraft in ’78, added a second Kwik Stop in Vicksburg in ’80, and built Texas Lawn & Garden too.

Dave and Juanita’s marriage ended in 1980, though he remained a proud parent and close friend with the mother of his children. He also found plenty to keep him occupied, too. He began building his dream home, his own private “Utopia” on 20 acres on Harrison Lake in Schoolcraft. “You can’t buy your Utopia, you’ve got to build it!” Dave said. And so he did.

He never stopped tinkering at home, either. He built a frog pond, complete with a waterfall and everything, and raised woodchucks, raccoons, turkeys, even peacocks over the years! Dave loved animals, especially his three cats, Casper, Scruffy and Sammy, as a lifelong cat-lover.

Dave was always starting something (though he didn’t always finish it!), and fully restored a beautiful 1936 Ford pickup truck. He could fix anything, and had two or three sets of all the tools he needed in his barns. He even built a World War II biplane! He learned to fly, and took it to shows all over. He was a longtime RC plane enthusiast (one of his countless hobbies), and the biplane was a dream come true for him.

His love for flying led him to go to work for Kal-Areo as an aircraft mechanic and inspector. He did this for several years, but eventually the punching a time-clock every day got to him, and he went back into business for himself. Being out at the Kalamazoo Airport all the time, he realized a café would be a big hit, so he built the Flight Line Café there. While it was under construction, he began making popcorn to sell to passengers on arriving flights. He would watch the runway for arriving flights and then fire up the popcorn machine so the fresh smell would waif throughout the terminal. That popcorn sold like hotcakes!

Dave was far from all work and no play, though. He was a very social, fun-loving man, with many, many good friends and buddies. Dave was a great friend to have, and was incredibly loyal to his buddies. He loved to take extended boat trips all over the country with his buddy Fred, dropping the boat in at Chicago, and taking two or three weeks to float on down to the Gulf of Mexico. They did the Mississippi, Tom Bigby and every big river eastward. Dave was always up for an adventure, and tried just about everything once.

He was also a longtime board member of the Lakes Area Conservation Club, becoming the “man to beat” when out on the line. He never bragged and would always say he wasn’t a very good shot, then go out and run a hundred straight targets. Last year at the Great Lakes Grand, he won his class for trap shooting, breaking 198 of 200 targets, becoming the state champion!

Dave was also very proud of his family, from his daughter Julie, who he lovingly called “Rugs” (short for rug-rat), to his son Tim, who Dave was proud of for joining the Navy and playing the banjo (he loved bluegrass). He was close to his nephew Doug, as well, and sold his café to him in 2005, when he unofficially retired.

True to form, Dave got bored in retirement, and went to work for Pep Boys delivering auto parts. He started one last business, Commercial Mower Parts, but sadly, Dave became ill, and it never got off the ground.

One day in June of 2008, Dave started getting dizzy, and went into the hospital on June 23. He never recovered, and was placed in hospice in late July. His family brought him home to spend his few remaining days in his “Utopia.” Sadly, Dave passed away in his sleep with family and friends at his side on Sunday, August 3, 2008 in Kalamazoo. He was 68.

Dave was such a remarkable man, a man of many talents, passions and pastimes. He was a successful businessman, a loving father, husband and a faithful friend, who built the beautiful life he led himself. “You can’t buy your Utopia, you’ve got to build it,” and he did. He was a self-made man to the last. They’ll never make another one like him. He will be greatly missed.

A celebration of life service will be held Thursday 11:00 AM at Life Story Funeral Home, Betzler-6080 Stadium Drive-Kalamazoo, 375-2900 followed by a luncheon at the family home. He was preceded in death by his parents and by his brother Bob Cronk. Surviving are 2 children: Julie Cronk of Kalamazoo and Tim Cronk of Vicksburg; 3 siblings: Marcille Rynd; Barb Cronk and Shirley Neal all of Kalamazoo and a nephew, Doug Neil of Kalamazoo. Please visit Dave’s personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com, where you can share a memory or photo, sign his memory book or make a memorial contribution to Three Rivers Health Hospice.