April/May 2005
Vol. XI, No. 1
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Arthur M. Crocker Remembered
The Institute observes with deep sadness the passing of Arthur M. Crocker, a retired investment banker and generous early donor to the Institute’s Capital Campaign for the construction of a permanent headquarters building on the National Mall. Crocker, the father of former Institute board chairman and continuing board member Chester A. Crocker, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Naples, Florida, in January of this year at the age of 95. “My father was a global steward who implored those in positions of responsibility to think about the future of the global commons, the generations to come, and our responsibility to leave behind something worth saving on this earth,” said Chester Crocker in his eulogy.
Arthur Crocker’s contribution of a $180,000 challenge grant was among the earliest monies given to the building fund, and prompted Institute president Richard H. Solomon to note at the time that Arthur Crocker had once again “made a significant contribution to the future of this nation and the future of our beautiful planet.”
Crocker is especially remembered for his lifelong dedication to the cause of environmentalism. As a boy exploring the seashore near Oyster Bay, New York, where he grew up, and hiking in the Adirondacks where his family vacationed, Arthur Crocker developed a love of nature that would shape many of his adult preoccupations. He graduated from Princeton in 1931, and served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve on duty in Iceland and the Pacific during World War II. He became an early proponent of the conservation movement, joining the newly formed Nature Conservancy in the early 1950s and assuming the presidency of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks in 1964. He maintained a 40-year commitment to the Association.
His commitment to the cause of international peace developed out of his experiences in World War II and the necessity of stopping Hitler to preserve democracy. His son, Chester Crocker, continued that family tradition as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under President Ronald Reagan and Secretary of State George Schultz, and then as the long-term chair of the Institute’s board of directors.
Institute president Richard H. Solomon said that the loss of Arthur Crocker left him deeply saddened. “Arthur had a thoughtful, independent, and original character and a first-rate intellect. His generosity and vision for the future of the Institute made a major contribution to putting us on the path to permanence in our nation’s capital. On behalf of the entire board and staff of the Institute, I send deepest condolences to Chet and his family.”
