CROOKS, Arthur

ARTHUR CROOKS 1939 ~ 2026 Arthur Hew Dalrymple Crooks of Lethbridge, Alberta, died April 16, 2026, at Foothills Hospital in Calgary at the age of 86, surrounded by close family.
Art was a man of legendary personal frugality and boundless generosity to others. He is survived by Mary Jane, his beloved wife of 60 years; sons Hew (Kate) and Morgan (Aimee); son-in-law George Goodall; grandchildren Crawford, Mary, Findlay, Sydney, Grady, Mathilda, Riley, and Andrew; his sister Margaret Copeland; and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his daughter Claire and grandson Charles.
Art was born August 24, 1939, in Guelph to Hew and Evelyn Crooks, just weeks before his father went overseas to serve far from home for the duration of World War II. He grew up primarily in London, Ontario, before attending Amherst College (’60) and earning his MBA from Western University (’63). From an early age Art had a fiercely independent streak and enthusiasm for adventure, which showed in a lifelong love of skiing, motorcycles, and flying his vintage airplane.
After a successful career in sales at Facelle, Art found a perfect match in business when he became a Canadian Tire dealer. He and Mary Jane worked long hours to make successes of their first stores in Blenheim and Pembroke, Ontario, but as Canadian Tire moved west, he was lured to the open spaces and blue skies of southern Alberta to open the first Canadian Tire store in Lethbridge. Art ultimately enjoyed 41 very successful years with CTC and reveled in the deep friendships that he made with many fellow dealers. Long after his retirement, the meetings and reunions with this group were marked on the calendar in pen. His Lethbridge store provided the base for a variety of other ventures and real estate developments, but at heart he was a merchant.
Art valued thrift in all things but was generous with money, giving in ways large and small. He leaves a strong legacy in the Lethbridge community, including foundational gifts establishing the Crooks School of Transportation at Lethbridge Polytechnic, a chair of liberal education at the University of Lethbridge, and consistent support to many other local initiatives and causes. This support will continue and grow from the foundation he established. Earlier this year Art and Mary Jane made a generous gift to the Bringing Hearts Home campaign of Chinook Regional Hospital. Art was passionate about this project to establish world-class cardiac care so that Southern Albertans would not have to endure risky transit for hours to the nearest cardiac ICU. This concern proved prophetic, as he had to undergo a long ambulance transfer to Calgary in his final days.
Art loved the family cottage on Gloucester Pool, which he built with his father in 1953 and only grudgingly updated over the years with extravagances like indoor plumbing. It was here that he first met Mary Jane Fry and her large, loving family who embraced him as one of their own. Gloucester Pool and nearby Horseshoe (Fry) Island remain a special haven for both families. Winters were spent at the family condo at Big White, where children and grandchildren learned to ski, to lose gracefully at cards, and to know that “best before” does not mean “bad after” on food labels.
He put boundless energy into Brentwood College School as a parent, grandparent, and nearly 30-year member of the school’s Board of Governors. Days before his death he was still working to approve the new 10-year strategic plan for the school from his bed in the ICU. The family members surrounding him did not endorse this choice but knew that any argument was pointless. Art lived on his terms until the end.
A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church in Lethbridge on Saturday, June 20, with a reception to follow.
A separate reception and celebration of life is being planned for late August in Toronto.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the above-referenced Bringing Hearts Home campaign. https://crhfoundation.ca/cardiaccare/index.php
Visit www.mbfunerals.com to send a condolence.