George T. "Tom" Cronin was born in Worcester, MA, and attended public school there until his family moved to nearby Shrewsbury, MA, where he graduated from high school. Tom was an outstanding high school athlete. He declined several professional baseball contract offers in favor of scholarship offers to college, attending New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. He subsequently transferred to Holy Cross College in Worcester. Following graduation, he taught and coached varsity basketball and track at Milford High School from 1963 to 1967.

He entered on duty as a Special Agent on May 22, 1967. His first office was Kansas City and later je was transferred to the Hyattsville, MD Resident Agency of the Baltimore Division. Tom worked major violent crimes, including preparing and filing the charging document against Arthur Bremer in the 1972 shooting of Alabama Governor George Wallace in Laurel, MD. In November, 1978, he coordinated and reported to FBI Headquarters the initial interviews of the Jonestown Massacre survivors at Andrews Air Force Base.

Following the March, 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan by John Hinkley, Jr., Tom was detailed to the Washington Field Office to work the investigation. Coincidentally in this incident, a wounded police officer, Thomas Delahanty, was the husband of Brenda's friend, co-worker and supervisor at the C & P Telephone Company. Tom completed his bureau career on the Baltimore SOG Team, retiring in November, 1996.

Tom is survived by his wife of 55 years, Brenda Elaine (Harris) Cronin and their four daughters; Kim Drake and her husband Terry, Colleen Ferguson and her husband James, Kelly Dunlap and her husband Howard and Kathleen Flynn and her husband James. He was the devoted grand father of 14 and great-grandfather of three.

Arrangements provided by Lee Funeral Home.