William Wesley Croft, 82, of Mattapoisett died Wednesday December 31, 2003 at Tobey Hospital in Wareham after a brief illness. He was the husband of Anita H. (Dawson) Croft; they had been married for 61 years.
Born and raised in Medford, the son of the late Roy Russell Croft and Freda G. (Rogge) Croft Collomore, he lived in Mattapoisett since 1951. He was a graduate of Medford High School and the Wentworth Institute of Technology.
He was a member of the Mattapoisett Congregational Church.
Mr. Croft was formerly employed as a carpentry teacher at New Bedford Vocational High School. He later was the Chairman of the Industrial Arts Department at Wareham High School until his retirement.
During World War II, he served as a Boatswain's Mate Master at Arms Second Class in the U.S. Navy. He was a member of the U.S. Navy Salvage Divers Reunited, the American Legion of Mattapoisett, the Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Harold Chipman Post in Melrose, and the Converse Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Melrose, from which he received his fifty year pin. A stamp collector for many years, he was a member of the Whaling City Stamp Club, the Boston Philatelic Society, Inc., and the Hollywood Stamp Club in Florida. He was a boating enthusiast who conducted charter fishing parties during the summer months. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports, and was an avid skier.
Survivors include his wife; 2 daughters, Lisa Anderson and her husband Jeff of Columbia, Maryland, and Lauren Vaughan and her husband Allen of Stafford, Virginia; and 3 grandsons, Eric Anderson, David Anderson, and Daniel Vaughan.
His Memorial Service will be conducted on Saturday January 3, 2004 at 2 PM in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. His family will receive visitors from 1-2 PM prior to the service. Burial in Cushing Cemetery will be private. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Tobey Hospital Building Fund, 43 High St., Wareham, MA 02571.