William Baker Cronin passed away peacefully in Ellicott City, Maryland on June 21, 2015. Mr. Cronin was born in Aberdeen on December 29, 1914 and lived in Maryland throughout the 100 years of his life. He attended Aberdeen primary and secondary schools (where he was a champion roller skater and practical joker - and with fellow Boy Scouts, he pushed a Model T Ford on hilly gravel roads most of the way to Niagara Falls and back). He graduated from Washington College in 1940. Following service in the U.S. Coast Guard and employment at the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Company, he joined the Chesapeake Bay Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, where he worked for 30 years until retirement, travelling the Chesapeake Bay for research. He mentored Sea Scouts and cruised on the Bay throughout his life on several sailboats that he owned. His knowledge and love of the Chesapeake served as the basis for many magazine articles and two books, The Disappearing Islands of the Chesapeake Bay (2005) and the Cities and Towns of the Chesapeake (2013). He was an excellent dancer, and especially enjoyed square dancing. He also enjoyed numerous interests, such as astronomy, jewelry-making, and constructing wooden models of historic boats and ships, particularly those that sailed in Maryland. Mr. Cronin was preceded in death by his first wife, the former Dorothy Anne Wells, in 1991 and his second wife, the former Elizabeth Harris, in 2013. He is survived by his children, Thomas and Wendy, and by his grandchildren, Elena and Ian. A memorial service will be held at Calvary Methodist Church, Annapolis, Maryland on July 20, 2015 at 11 a.m. Donations in his memory may be made to the Chesapeake Maritime Museum, 213 North Talbot Street, St. Michaels, Maryland 21633.

Published in Baltimore Sun on Jul. 10, 2015.