Jerry Croft, professor emeritus of cultural geography, died on November 19, 2023, in Iowa City, Iowa, surrounded by his family and in peace, after battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia with heroic, almost unbelievable strength and determination for twenty-five years.

Jerry was born on December 19, 1939, in Anthony, Kansas, to Samuel (Sam) and LaFleeta (Maxine) Croft. He grew up in Bluff City, Kansas, a town with a population of 150. He was a handsome, good-natured boy who treated his peers with kindness and excelled in athletics, becoming an all-state basketball and football player and developing a lifelong love of baseball that he lived to pass on to his grandson, Charlie Croft, who was born in 2022, and whose face lit up every time he saw his Pop-Pop coming through the door. Nina, Charlie’s twin, was equally thrilled by the presence of her grandpa, not because of baseball, but because her grandpa was so fond of sharing snacks.

Until his death in 2011, Jerry’s brother, Richard (Richie) Dean Croft, was his best friend. The two particularly remembered hiking along Bluff Creek, near their home. “I am sure my love for the environment can be traced to Bluff Creek,” Jerry wrote, “with its wondrous water, its fabulous cottonwood trees, and its varied animal and bird life that all helped me appreciate and enjoy immensely the environment.”

As he was exploring the landscape with unflagging excitement, Jerry also began to take an interest in the wider world. He described himself as “a kid with a big imagination and a deep love for looking at maps and globes,” a love encouraged by several exceptional teachers along the way. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1962 with a BA in Geography, the first in his family to go to college, and immediately pursued a master’s degree in the same subject at Kansas State. The following year, he started teaching, and in 1966, he began his storied career at Oklahoma State, where he enabled tens of thousands of students to gain an understanding and appreciation of an endlessly fascinating planet.

His enthusiasm for his subject and his easy-going nature brought about frequent travel opportunities. He was a visiting professor at institutions including Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1975, and Central College, in Pella, Iowa, in 1994. He was also Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in 1987. After twenty-five years, he retired from Oklahoma State University in 1991, and in 1999, as Professor Emeritus, he secured an adjunct appointment in International Studies at the University of Iowa, where his wife, Laurie Croft, was building her career.

In addition to being a gifted educator, Jerry was a proud and devoted husband to Laurie, a generous and benevolent father to Jay, Jennifer, and Anne Marie Croft, and a delighted uncle to Rick Croft. He is also survived by nieces Christine Brooke and Vicki Ward, grandchildren Orin and Katy Croft, and great-nieces and -nephews. His family will be forever thankful for his creativity, his resourcefulness, his patience, his warmth, his sense of humor (especially the awful puns), and his absolute support as they pursued dreams he chose to inhabit right alongside them. According to one former student and friend, Michele Kidson, “when asked where he most enjoyed being, Jerry replied, ‘I enjoy almost anywhere as long as my family and my friends are present.’ He continued, ‘There is nothing better than having your children with you for any occasion.’

Jerry did love taking any excursion with his family, as well as watching sports, movies, and TV together. Some of his favorites were Hoosiers, Field of Dreams, Notting Hill, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, as well as The Waltons, Monk, Young Sheldon, and CBS Sunday Morning. He particularly loved visiting the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma to see his favorite painting by his favorite painter: Mother Earth Laid Bare by Alexandre Hogue. He was always listening to the music of John Denver, especially “Annie’s Song,” which offers a wonderful window onto who Jerry was:

You fill up my senses

Like a night in a forest

Like the mountains in springtime

Like a walk in the rain

Like a storm in the desert

Like a sleepy blue ocean

You fill up my senses

Come fill me again

Come let me love you

Let me give my life to you

Let me drown in your laughter

Let me die in your arms

Let me lay down beside you

Let me always be with you

Come let me love you

Come love me again

There was no one more loving or more in tune with his surroundings than Jerry Croft.

“One of my favorite Dutch words is gezelligheid,” writes Dutch-American former student Skaaren Cossé. “It’s a befuddling word to translate into English—more of an abstraction than a word, it essentially means that warmth you feel in the company of your favorite people. It is a word I deeply associate with my time with Professor Jerry Croft. Professor Croft had a genuine curiosity for each and every person’s story, a trait which made every person with whom he interacted feel profoundly worthy. When he would listen to you speak he would give you that gentle expression I’m sure we all know so well, the one with the subtle smile and twinkling eyes. In those moments, whether I was sitting with him in a bland classroom on campus or his charming home in Tiffin, I felt gezelligheid in the purest form.

“The funny thing is, as special as he made me feel, I know my experience with him was anything but unique. I like to think about the countless others who also carry with them similar experiences, having crossed paths with Professor Croft during his astonishing fifty-plus years as an educator. Gezelligheid is the term I use, but they must have their own, and I am certain they treasure their memories of him as much as I do.”

Jerry believed that “the bottom line of life is to enjoy it,” a sentiment he credited to the Dalai Lama. Jerry’s joy changed lives and brought tremendous happiness to so many around him. We will hold a celebration of Jerry Croft on Zoom on December 19, 2023, from 6:00-8:00 pm. The meeting ID is 896 0720 7280. If you have any questions at all about joining the celebration, please feel free to get in touch with Laurie or Jennifer.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you consider making a donation of any size to the Jerry Croft and Family Award in the Teaching of Geography at Oklahoma State University.

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