William (Bill) Crooke, Sr. of Pensacola, Fl passed away on Thursday, January 23, 2014. He was 83 years old. He was preceded in death by his parents; Robert S. Crooke and Clementine Nelson Crooke and brother Richard David (Crow) Crooke. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; children, Cynthia Kaye Crooke Nell (Bill) and Dr. William Crooke, Jr., and his granddaughters, Marika Ruth Nell and Amanda Kate Nell. He leaves behind a loving family of brothers and sisters; Robert Crooke (Jane), Betty Goodson, Dr. Charles Crooke (Lois), Thomas Crooke (Bonnie), Bernard (Butch) Crooke (Norma), George Crooke, (Phyllis), Diane Manning (Larry) and sister-in-law Duane Ingram. Sisters and brothers-in-law; Winona and Bob Fielder, Dr. Ben and Charlotte Nutt, Robert (Buck) and Brenda Nutt and a large extended family of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. Bill opened his heart to many and they became family. Robert Hicks and Sharon Kinoshita are very dear. Foreign exchange students, Rinaldo Zechetto and Kimi Kikkogin lived for a time with the family, built many good memories and remain in touch. Bill was a native of Pensacola, descended from early Spanish settlers, Manuel Dominguez and Isabella Maura whose daughter was Eulalia Villar; he loved the city and would never consider living anywhere else. He served his country in the US Air Force during the Korean Conflict, serving at Mitchell Field, Hempstead, Long Island and later in Japan. He was employed by Southern Bell Telephone Company from 1951 until he retired in 1984 from Alcatel Lucent. Upon his retirement, he immediately joined his dear, long-time friend, Johnnie Labrato as partner in Telecommunications of Pensacola, doing telephone repair and installation for many years. On Johnnie's retirement, Bill and Hubert Paulk continued the company. He was a consummate volunteer, doing the repair and installation of telephone equipment for Habitat for Humanities, Favor House, United Ministries and Loaves and Fishes. He was a member of the 10 Gallon Club at the Blood Bank. Bill was a founding member of Telco Federal Union (now Central Credit Union of Florida). He began his volunteering by serving on the credit committee from 1954 to 1960. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1960 and held every position on the board, serving for over 25 years as Treasurer. In November of 1967 he made the motion to build the Madge S. Glaze building which is the main office today. Quoting from the annual report of 1996; "Bill never meets a stranger. He is a gentleman, a good friend, a "people" person and always has a good word for everyone and everything. If Bill does have a fault it is his inability to say NO. He ranks number one as a husband, father, grandfather, citizen, credit union member and volunteer". Most important to Bill was his family. He spent many happy days on Bayou Texar teaching his children and their friends to water ski. He loved the Smoky Mountains and multi-family camping trips with relatives and friends and his granddaughters will never forget the time their Granddad spent with them. He took care of his family with love, competence and patience. Bill dearly loved the good people of St. Mark United Methodist Church. In earlier years, he loved being a counselor for the youth. He served as head usher for many years, greeting everyone with a smile and a good word. A Celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, January 26, 2014 with visitation at 2pm and the service beginning at 3pm at St. Mark United Methodist Church, 2203 N. 12th Ave., with the Rev. Nancy Watson officiating. Memorials to St. Mark United Methodist Church or any of the above charitable organizations would be welcomed. The family expresses gratitude to the compassionate nurses and staff at the Sacred Heart Medical Oncology Group with special thanks to Dr. Tarek Eldawy and Covenant Hospice.