Obituary of Matthew Wayne Cronin

Matthew Wayne Cronin, 79, of Salem, died Sunday, July 6, 2014 at the Spaulding North Shore Hospital in Salem after a brief illness. He was the loving husband of Patricia (Lee) Cronin with whom he shared 47 years of marriage. He was born in Salem, MA on August 13, 1934 the youngest child of 14 children to the late John Francis and Agnes Pearl (Calder) Cronin and had resided in Peabody graduating from PeabodyHigh School. Following his marriage he resided in Salem. He had been employed with the Commonwealth of MA, Dept. of Public Works as a foreman and later as a supervisor for 38 years prior to his retirement. He then was employed with the City of Salem as a Van Driver and also was a Driver for Catherine Adult Day Care. He was a security guard at the NSMC Salem Hospital and also a crossing guard at Salem State University. Wayne, also known as Wayne-O, had been very active with the AOH Div, 18, Salem serving in many capacities, as President, the Board of Directors and also on the CountyBoard as president and a member of the standing committee. He was named the Irishman of the Year in 1995 and was granted a life membership In the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America. In a plaque presented to him, it quotes Wayne," I did it my Way and was a man who was dedicated to Hibernianism." He served as Captain on the State honor guard of the AOH for many years. He loved listening to all kinds of music, and enjoyed going to High School Sporting events and games that his family participated in and also was a strong Red Sox fan. He is survived by his wife, Patricia of Salem,, a daughter, Christina Cronin and her significant other, Glenn Wilczek and a grandson, Maxx Wilczek all of Beverly, two sisters, Marguerite Pearl Carney of Peabody and Joan Phyllis Kelley of Ft. Myers, Fl. and several nieces and nephews. He was the brother of the late Thomas Francis Cronin, Daniel William Cronin, John Edward Cronin, Jerome Paul Cronin, James Earl Cronin, Joseph Cronin, Gladys May Driscoll, Dorothy Eileen Simmons, Gwendolyn Agnes Grenier, Shirley Viola Cronin and Kathleen June Smith. A Visitation will be held on Wednesday from 4:00 until 8:00 PM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home at the 82 Lynn St., Peabody facility. His funeral will be held on Thursday morning at 9:00 AM from the funeral home followed by a Funeral Mass in St. Thomas the ApostleChurch, Margin St., Peabody/Salem line at 10:00 AM. Relatives and friends are kindly invited. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the American Diabetes association, 330 Congress St., 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02210 in his memory.