John Cronin, Herald top librarian, at 79
John R. Cronin of Winthrop, formerly of East Boston, the former chief librarian of the Boston Herald, died Saturday at Meadow Green Nursing Home in Waltham. He was 79.
Mr. Cronin was born and raised in Cambridge and was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
He attended St. John’s Seminary at Boston College and was a gradute of Catholic University, where he received his master’s degree. He was a member of the Special Library Association.
Mr. Cronin worked at the Herald for more than 35 years, and oversaw the library from the old days of filing cabinets full of yellowed newsprint clips and bookshelves full of reference books, into the databases and search tools of the computer era.
“John Cronin was an institution at the Boston Herald. Before Google, if you needed help finding obscure facts, John was your guy,” said Herald Managing Editor Jules Crittenden. “He was extremely well-read, and was someone you could talk about anything with — personal, professional, historic or academic. He also threw a great Christmas party every year.”
“I always enjoyed working with John,” said Herald Photo Editor James Mahoney. “John was a class act. I enjoyed his collegial banter.”
Mr. Cronin’s son Daniel said, “He was a great family man and he had a wonderful sense of humor.”
Husband of the late Carol Ann (Luti), he is survived by three sons, Christopher of Brighton, Daniel of Franklin and Justin of Londonderry, N.H.; five grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at St. John the Evangelist Church, Winthrop.
Burial will be in Winthrop Cemetery.
Arrangements by Ruggiero Family Memorial Home, East Boston.