It is with sadness we report the passing of Kenneth Elmer Crooks, the beloved and influential professor and administrator in the College of Aeronautics whose classes in aviation law and ethics – along with his caring demeanor – helped shape the lives and careers of future deans, professors and pilots over his 22 years at Florida Tech.
Col. Crooks, a peerless pilot and retired U.S. Air Force officer, passed away peacefully on July 28 at his Melbourne home at age 92. He now joins his wife of 71 years, Kathleen Crooks, who passed away in December 2023 at age 93.
Born in New Castle, Pennsylvania and reared in the steel mill towns of western Pennsylvania, Col. Crooks was tossing I-beams in those torrid mills by the age of 16. It was the start of a remarkable working life marked by excellence, admiration and influence.
“He was a pioneer in aviation, a treasure in education, and the loving and inspirational foundation of four generations of family,” said his son Kerry Crooks, Ph.D., one of five boys reared by Kenneth and Kathleen Crooks. “The product of western Pennsylvania steel workers and inventors, he embodied their strength, ethics and innovation in everything he did.”
Known as “the Bear” by his family for his stature – 6-foot-3, broad shoulders, forearms like Popeye’s and powerful hands – and later “Zigzag” by reporters awed by what he could do in an aircraft, Col. Crooks’ first exposure to the military came via ROTC.
It was at Penn State as a sophomore that he joined the U.S. Air Force ROTC program. It was a fateful step, made initially out of convenience, Kerry Crooks noted, that would lead to a stellar 26-year military career in that branch, including voluntarily spending four years flying missions in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
Another fateful encounter at Penn State was with a multilingual beauty queen from eastern Pennsylvania named Kathleen Aagaard. The two would become college sweethearts, marry and remain together for the next seven decades.
From Penn State, the couple decamped for the Bartow Air Base in central Florida. Young Kenneth had a gift for aviation, and his years in the Air Force were filled with thousands of hours of flying in myriad aircraft and teaching others how to do so. He was one of the first instructor pilots for Boeing’s KC-135 Stratotanker, an aerial refueling aircraft the company developed concurrently with its 707 jet. He would go on to teach some of the first commercial 707 pilots.
Kerry Crooks said seeing his father fly was like witnessing a virtuoso musician.
“He was what they called a natural pilot. His hands would move like a harp player, flow over the instruments like liquid,” he said. “These were big hands, but in the aircraft, he was an artisan. Just gorgeous to watch.”
Col. Crooks retired from the Air Force in 1979 after serving 26 years and migrated to Florida with Kathy and their five sons, joining relatives in the state. Not one to sit idly by, he finished his master’s degree in public administration started in the Air Force, gained his real estate license, and taught high school and as an adjunct instructor at Florida Southern University in Lakeland.
Then it was off to law school at the University of Florida.
At age 59, he graduated with his Juris Doctorate in December 1989. After passing the bar exam, in September 1990, Col. Crooks was hired at Florida Tech as an assistant professor in what was then the School of Aeronautics. It was a good fit.
“Beautiful campus, beautiful area, his colleagues – everything was just ideal for him,” Kerry Crooks said.
His 22-year tenure included service as interim dean and important roles in the program’s transition from a school to a college, as well as key roles in international matters and in acquiring the Aviation Accreditation Board International accreditation. Florida Tech’s program was one of the first in the nation to be thusly accredited.
But it was his interactions with colleagues and students that truly highlighted this special man.
“He was a father figure to all students and young faculty, always looking after their best interest,” recalled Korhan Oyman, a professor and former dean of the College of Aeronautics. “I considered him as my mentor and best friend who I can discuss anything with. He was a man of utmost character and integrity whom we all looked up to as a role model.”
Former students spoke of Col. Crooks and his classes, such as Aviation Law and Legal and Ethical Issues in Aviation, in reverential terms.
“I have never forgotten our rigorous and lively class discussions about Immanuel Kant’s philosophy and the critical intersection of the law and ethics in aviation,” Ulreen O. Jones-McKinney, ’15 Ph.D., associate professor and former interim dean in the College of Aeronautics, told Florida Tech. “It was evident from that first day Dr. Crooks was a very learned man with an amazing background and personal experience he brought to our classroom every day.”
Jones-McKinney, noting the tradition of her ancestors, used Col. Crooks’ name to express her memories:
“Kind; Emphatic; Noble hearted; Noted for being magnanimous; Energetic; with Twinkling eyes; He was a giant of a man. Caring and compassionate; Righteous, whose life philosophy is transferred Over to the next generations; Optimistic; Knowledgeable; and a Superb counselor, advocate, and professor beloved by all of his students in perpetuity.”
Fin Bonset ‘96, ‘99 MSA had a years-long relationship with Col. Crooks. “A great man and an even greater friend,” he recalled. “I have had the privilege of being his student, his mentee when I was a young professor, and eventually his good friend, as he helped me become the person I am today by being a shining example of a fair, just and gracious human being that deeply cared for his Florida Tech family.”
His love for teaching never faded, but Col. Crooks retired in January 2012 to focus on another labor of love: taking care of his ailing wife, who had dementia and other ailments.
“The rest of his life was taken up as an equally incredible and devoted caregiver to my mom,” Kerry Crooks said.
That is not to say the Crooks family connection to Florida Tech ended upon his retirement. Three of Col. Crooks’ grandchildren earned degrees there.
Ulreen Jones-McKinney, a student of her grandfather, taught Victoria Crooks, who earned master’s degrees in aviation science and business administration. Kenneth A. Crooks earned a master’s degree in systems engineering, and Justin Crooks earned a master’s degree in public administration.
The memorial service and celebration of Col. Crooks’ extraordinary life will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 106 N. Riverside Drive, Indialantic, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, friends, family and colleagues are encouraged to donate in memory of Col. Crooks to a charity of their choice or to Florida Institute of Technology’s College of Aeronautics Dean’s Fund. Their contact information is gifts@fit.edu or 321-674-6162.
