John Wright "Jack" Cronin Jr. died Oct. 18, 2026, in the comfort of his home, with his family at his side. He was 91 years old. He was born Nov. 17, 1934, in Los Angeles to John Wright Cronin Sr. and Virginia Robinson Cronin. He graduated from Shaker Heights High School in Ohio and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Yale University.

Jack served eight years with the U.S. Navy, including NROTC. He dreamed of becoming a naval aviator, but his eyesight fell short of the Navy's strict standards for pilots, and after three days as a naval aviation cadet, he was assigned to a seagoing ship to test and evaluate antisubmarine nuclear weapons. Stationed in Key West, Florida, he promptly went to the Key West airport, took flying lessons and became a certified pilot.

After the Navy, Jack earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He then followed his family's roots to the mountains of Colorado, where he skied, fished, hunted and backpacked. He married Susan Scott Thompson in 1965, and they had two daughters. Jack and Susan divorced in 1974.

Jack began his career at his family's company, Robinson Brick & Tile, and later worked at Colorado National Bank, Collins Security and King Resources. He then built a long career in commercial real estate development and founded his own firm, Cronin & Company.

Jack's avocation and true passion in life was aviation. Over his lifetime he accumulated more than 10,000 hours of flight time. He was a certified instrument flight instructor (CFIl) and was licensed to fly high-powered military and civilian airplanes as well as helicopters, seaplanes and the DC-3. He collected numerous aircraft, including a 1949 Cessna 140A, a 1947 Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, a 1953 North American T-6 that had served as a trainer for the South African military, a 1980 Beechcraft Turbo Bonanza, and a rare 1946 Beechcraft Staggerwing. He received the first Airmanship Award from the American Bonanza Society and the FAA's Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. Qualified in formation flying, he performed at national air shows, including Reno and Oshkosh. He was a longtime director of Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum.

Jack discovered Aspen in the summer of 1946, when he was 12 and his parents rented a house there. Jack went to work for Red Rowland hauling water up Ajax Mountain to the crews who were building Lifts 1 and 2. In 1965 his parents retired to Aspen and built a house on Willoughby Way. For the rest of his life, he spent countless days skiing the powder and moguls on Ajax Mountain.

Jack married Mary Gittings in Aspen on December 28, 1988. Together they shared 38 years of adventure, global travel and weekends in Aspen. They flew the coastlines of the United States in the Cessna 140A.

And while on a flight over the Rocky Mountains, the single-engine Bonanza lost power at 12,000 feet. Jack executed a perfect emergency landing on a narrow rural highway near Hartsel, Colorado. Although Mary was often terrified flying through snow and rainstorms, Jack remained a focused and highly skilled pilot.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Virginia Ann Cronin Flobeck. He is survived by his wife, Mary Gittings Cronin; his daughters, Cristin Scott Cronin and Dr. Dana Cathleen Ostermiller (Marty); his niece, Virginia Flobeck Shipman (Geoff); his stepchildren, Michael Gittings (Tracy) and Dr. Anne Gittings (Chris Smith); his grandsons, Bryce Ostermiller and Kai Ostermiller; and four step-grandchildren, William Gittings, Olivia Gittings, Graham Smith and Caroline Smith.

At his request, private services will be held. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wings Over the

Rockies Air & Space Museum, 7711 E. Academy Blvd., Denver, CO 80230. wingsmuseum.org