Dr. George Thomas €Œtomâ Croft

He was born September 29, 1926 at Sibley Hospital, Washington, DC. His parents were William Thomas Croft and Georgietta Lyon Croft of La Plata, MD. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Mohr Croft, his children Linda Marie Shea of Bradenton, FL, David Thomas Croft, PhD. of Oak Hill, VA, and John Frizzell Croft of Hilton Head Island, SC, and his grandchildren, Zachary, Lorena, Catherine and Joshua. He graduated from La Plata High School, La Plata, MD at the age of 16 as Valedictorian, enrolled at Western Maryland College, Westminster, MD in June of 1942 and completed two summer school semesters before turning 17. In February of 1945, he joined the U.S. Navy where he became an ETM 3/c, and volunteered to participate in the Bikini Atom bomb test conducted in the South Pacific. After discharge from the Navy, he returned to Western Maryland College where he obtained a BS degree with a double major in Math and Physics. That fall, he married Geraldine Frizzell, his first wife, now deceased. His physics professor at Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) recommended him to the graduate school at Penn. He began classes at The University of Pennsylvania Physics Department in late fall of 1948. By the spring of 1952, he had completed his Ph.D. thesis requirements. Because his thesis advisor was a consultant to Charles Edison, the son of Thomas Edison and owner of the original Thomas Edison Company, West Orange, New Jersey, he joined the newly organized Research and Development lab as a research Physicist. There he did basic research on nickel/cadmium electrochemical reactions. In 1958 he accepted a position at Pitney Bowes, Stamford, Connecticut where he became the Director of Research and Development and Staff Engineering. In 1970 he accepted a position at Addressograph-Multigraph, Cleveland, Ohio. There he served as Vice President of Research and Development and Staff Engineering with other world wide corporate responsibilities. In 1976 he joined American Optical, Southbridge, Massachusetts as Vice President of Research and Development. In 1981 he moved to Sea Pines Plantation, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and started a new career path. After retiring from industry he formed "Technology Resource Management" a consulting group that accepted a variety of assignments, was an assistant professor of physics at USCB taught at USCB in Beaufort, and also at the Savannah Technical Institute, Savannah, GA. Working with a group of Hilton Head Island residents interested forming a local college he became the first director of "The College of Hilton Head'. He recruited the first faculty, set up the first courses, and got the fledging school accredited through The University of South Carolina Beaufort. The College of Hilton Head became a part of USCB and was the precursor of the USCB Campus now located on route 278 in Bluffton, SC. With his partners he formed "Tactile Lock Inc." a development group dedicated to eliminating accidental deaths by fire arms. He and his business partners were granted three US patents on Safe Gun Locks. In addition, he has authored the books, "Three Dimensional Analytical Geometry", "Applications of Three Dimensional Analytical Geometry", and "An Alternative Theory of Global Warming and Cooling" and throughout his career has contributed articles to professional journals. He had also been awarded other US patents in addition to those cited above. He is a member of the American Physical Society, A life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, was a member of the American Management Association, the Corporate Associates Advisory Council to the American Physical Society, The Sons of the American Revolution, a member of the Advisory Council to the Dean of Engineering at University of Massachusetts, and The Presidents Advisory Council of Hiram College. His accomplishments are recognized by the Marquis Who's Who Publication Board being listed in "Who's Who in Science and Engineering", "Who's Who in America", and "Who's Who in the World". The family will be receiving friends from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Road, Bluffton, SC 29910. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, August 26, 2015 at Church of the Cross, 110 Calhoun Street, Bluffton, SC 29910. Burial will follow the service at 1:00 p.m. at Beaufort National Cemetery, Beaufort, SC. The family will be receiving friends from 6:00 â