A funeral Mass for Father Thomas Croak, CM, was celebrated March 30 at the Apostle of Charity Residence at St. Mary’s of the Barrens at Perryville. Father Croak died March 23. He was 87.
Thomas Michael Croak was born to Edward Patrick and Donna Kathleen “Pat” Ayers Croak on No. 17, 1938. He was baptized at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in St. Louis and attended the parish grade school before the family moved to St. Teresa Parish, where he completed elementary school. He then left for Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he attended St. Vincent’s College Seminary for high school. Upon graduation, he entered the novitiate at St. Mary’s of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville in 1956 and began studying for the priesthood. He earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy there before moving on to DeAndreis Seminary in Lemont, Illinois, where he earned a master’s in divinity. He was ordained a priest on May 27, 1965, at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Chicago.
In addition to his theological training, Father Croak earned a doctorate in history from Carnegie-Mellon University. He taught at DePaul Academy in Chicago, Cardinal Glennon College Seminary in St. Louis and for more than 40 years at DePaul University in Chicago.
In his role as dean at Cardinal Glennon, he served at a time of great transition in the Church. He believed that guiding men to a life of prayer, fostering a deep devotion to the Eucharist and engendering a personal commitment to the service of God and humanity were paramount.
At DePaul University, he served in a variety of roles: History Department faculty member and chair, associate vice-president, associate director of athletic development, associate professor emeritus in the School of Liberal Arts and director of student legal services, which evolved into the Croak Community Legal Clinic.
While he was dean of students at DePaul University, he revised the student handbook to ensure that students’ rights were protected and to ensure that students knew what their responsibilities were. In his role as dean, students often came to him with legal issues, which prompted him to earn his law degree from DePaul’s College of Law. Eventually, he was asked to start the student legal services program to provide legal resources to DePaul students, an innovative resource of this kind at a Catholic university in the United States. The Croak Community Legal Clinic at DePaul University is an outgrowth of that resource, continuing Father Croak’s commitment to knowledge, education and public service.
Father Croak was outgoing and unafraid to stand up for his convictions. He was not afraid to speak up in the face of injustice, whether it occurred in academic, civil, religious or ecclesial circumstances.
Father Croak was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Patricia Mizerany and his brother Edward (Loretta) Croak. He is survived by his sister Mary (Larry) Koenig, his brother Ron (Rose) Croak and numerous nieces and nephews.
Burial was in the community cemetery.
