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Stuart Lawrence Crossman Jr. Obituary

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Stuart Lawrence Crossman Jr.

Raleigh, NC

February 13, 1920 - September 5, 2020

Stuart Lawrence Crossman Jr. Obituary

OBITUARY
STUART L. CROSSMAN, JR.
13 February 1920 – 5 September 2020

Stuart Lawrence Crossman, Jr. was born February 13, 1920 in Schenectady NY, the eldest son of Carrie E. Bradley and Stuart L. Crossman, and died September 5, 2020 in Durham NC. Stu was an ebullient son, brother, student, engineer, husband, father, traveler and friend. He completed his early public education in Schenectady and in 1943 was graduated from the University of Michigan with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 1944, he was married to his first wife, Frances Arline Henderson, the mother of his twin daughters, Catherine and Susan.

Stu lived much of his adult life in Glastonbury CT in one of the town’s few Modern houses that he and Francie designed and had built, moving in in 1957. He worked as an engineer for his entire career, primarily for what is now called United Technologies Corporation in East Hartford CT for over 30 years. Of note, in 1948 he was the founder of the computer laboratory, a centralized facility that supported all the Divisions and Research Laboratory of United Aircraft Corporation (the forerunner of UTC) for the design, testing and manufacturing of the company’s aviation and aerospace products. In the early days, computer programmers were hard to find, so in collaboration with Trinity College in Hartford CT, Stu designed and co-taught a course in mathematical numerical analysis and computer programming from which many graduates were hired for the UAC Comp Lab. Stu always said he was fortunate to have
worked in exciting times. In addition to running the Comp Lab, he was also instrumental in managing many of UTC’s now de-classified, but then top-secret, computerized intelligence systems for high altitude surveillance.

Stu was an excellent cook and host and regaled his dinner guests for decades with multiple stories about travel and mountain climbing in the Adirondacks as he could never really talk about his work. He retired in 1977 whereupon he and Fran travelled extensively in Europe and moved back and forth across the US until finally settling in NH (summers) and FL (winters).

After Fran’s death in 1996, Stu resumed travelling and met Margit Nyulaszi while exploring Budapest, Hungary. They visited and corresponded for years and were married in 2004. They continued to keep homes in Budapest and Stuart FL until 2016 at which time they sold their condo in FL and planned to remain permanently in Hungary. Due to their declining health, however, Stu returned to live with his daughter and son-in-law in NC while Gita remained in Budapest. Never missing a day, they maintained daily telephone contact until Stu’s demise.

Per Stu’s wishes, there will not be a funeral service in the US. His cremains will be interred with those of his widow, Margit, when she passes. Condolences can be sent to her in Budapest. Memorial donations in Stu’s name may be made to a local hospice or to a charity of your choice. We are grateful for the services of Duke Hospice in Durham NC and their caring and competent staff.

To share a memory or send a condolence gift, please visit the Official Obituary of Stuart Lawrence Crossman Jr. hosted by R.M Ferguson Funeral Service.

Events

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