John George Croft

Rev. John George Croft, OMI, 96, died on May 12, 2015, at the Saints Campus of Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, Massachusetts, after a brief illness. Born on December 2, 1918, in Quincy, Massachusetts, he was the son of the late Arthur Murray Croft and Mary V. (Murray) Croft. He was predeceased by a brother, Arthur Joseph Croft, a sister-in-law, Carol Croft, a brother-in-law, Joseph Leah, and a niece, Mary Lou Leah.
Fr. Croft grew up in Nahant, Massachusetts, and attended Classical High School in Lynn, Massachusetts. He returned to Nahant for summer vacations for many years. He earned two degrees at Catholic University in Washington, DC: a Bachelor's Degree in Library Science and a Master's Degree in History. He subsequently earned a Master's Degree in Education from Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida.
He entered the novitiate of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, on September 7, 1937, and made his first vows on September 8, 1938. On June 5, 1944, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Arsene Turquetil, OMI, at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.
Fr. Croft ministered in varied capacities over the years. From 1944-46 he was pastor at St. Ann Parish in Florence and St. Jude Parish in Sumter, South Carolina. He was a professor at the Oblate College in Newburgh, New York, from 1947 to 1965, followed by five years as Principal of Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 1970, he was elected to the Provincial Council of the former Eastern U.S. Province of the Oblates in Washington, DC, and also served as superior of the community. He remained on the provincial council until 1980, serving as provincial of the Eastern U.S. Province from 1974 to 1980. He was superior at Oblate College in Washington, DC, from 1980 to 1983 and subsequently joined the preaching team until 1985. He was the pastor and community superior at St. William Parish in Tewksbury from 1985 to 1991. His next assignment was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he was parochial vicar at St. Margaret Mary Parish until September, 1995. From there, he joined the staff at St. Joseph the Worker Shrine in Lowell and remained until 2003. He re-joined the community at St. William Parish in Tewksbury as a senior priest in 2003. In 2012, at 93 years of age, he fully retired, joining the Oblate community at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Residence in Tewksbury and remained there until his death.
In addition to his Oblate family, he is survived by his twin sister, Mary Leah, of Peabody, Massachusetts, and her son, Joseph Leah, his wife, Kathy, and their five children of Noblesville, Indiana. He is also survived by two nieces, Lisa Croft and Debra Croft of Nahant, and a nephew, Arthur Croft, and his wife, Francie, of Merrimac, Massachusetts.