William Henry Crooks IV

Dr. William Henry (Hank) Crooks, 78, of Medford, OR (previously Thousand Oaks, CA), passed away on December 26, 2022, from metastasized prostate cancer.

Hank leaves behind his children with former wife Sharon, Kevin and Christopher Poole; and William (Will) Crooks and Katherine (now Root) with former wife Julie. He also leaves a granddaughter, Victoria, a brother Jeffry Crooks, and a sister Sara Lawrence.

Hank was born on January 21, 1944, in Washington, D.C, to Dr. William Ramsden Crooks and Betty Jane Crooks, and enjoyed an adventurous childhood in Corvallis, OR, while Hank’s father was head of the Psychology Department at Oregon State University. Hank graduated with his BS in Psychology from OSU before departing to study at the University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana. While studying for his Ph.D. in Aviation Psychology, Hank made many lifelong friends, including Robert (Dr. Bob) Jacobs and Russell (Russ) Darroch, and obtained his pilot’s license.

After obtaining his Ph.D., Hank moved to California and began his career as a human factors engineer, moving through several positions until he landed at Perceptronics in Woodland Hills, CA. While Chief Scientist at Perceptronics, Hank helped design the vehicles within the SIMNET system of interlinked simulators, an accomplishment that was the pinnacle of his career, working with some of the best and brightest minds in an exciting and dynamic time. The world of simulation was small during those early years, and while many friends and colleagues moved from company to company, Hank maintained contact with the people he connected with for decades, working with several of them many times during his career. Given the chance to change his vocation on more than one occasion, after deep thought and analysis, Hank always maintained that he would rather continue developing training systems over anything else. He closed out his career supporting the FAA in Washington, D.C.

A lifelong Unitarian, Hanks was active in the Chalice UU Church (then known as CVUUF) in Thousand Oaks, CA, where he taught the Our Whole Lives (OWL) program to children and wholeheartedly participated in many events and made many dear friends. Although not a musician himself, he enjoyed the church’s music program and anything else musical as a “talented listener”. Hank also spent many years at water polo matches, cheering on son Will, or in the audience of band and orchestra concerts beaming at Will and Katie. During that time, Hank also began working with the Kiwanis in Thousand Oaks, and joined The Mankind Project, continuing with that group in Virginia after his move there in 2011.

After retiring in 2016 due to his illness, Hank continued to make new friends, send jokes, and keep busy, first in CA, then in Salem, OR, until December of 2021 when he moved to Medford so that Katie and Julie could more closely supervise his care. While in Medford, Hank was able to walk Katie down the aisle at her wedding to Matthew Root and see all three of his sons. We will always remember Hank’s positive attitude, his cheerfulness, his love of learning, his skills at research and clear, explanatory writing, and his love for his family.

At Hank’s request, there will be no public service, but his remains will join the rest of his family in the local cemetery in Oakhurst, CA. Hank was particularly proud of his family’s heritage in California, where several generations of the Crooks family participated in the development of that part of the state. If you happen to drive through Oakhurst on your way to Yosemite, you may even see Crooks Ranch Road or Crooks Mountain on a map.

The family would like to thank the staff at Signature Hospice for their care for Hank and the entire family during the last year. Please, no flowers, although donations are welcome at your local Hospice or The Prostate Cancer Foundation.