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Martin Crouse of Westport, Artist, Engineer

Martin Thomas Crouse, devoted husband and father, talented artist, intuitive electrical engineer and Westport resident for nearly 30 years, died June 10 after a long fight with cancer. He was 62.

He is survived by his wife, Laurie; a son, Cimarron, and daughter Alyssa, both of Westport; a brother, Dennis Crouse of Annapolis, Md.; a brother in-law, Jon Dworkow of Norwalk; and his mother-in-law, Estelle Dworkow, and fathers-in-law, Peter Ash and the late Sol Dworkow, all of Westport.

Martin was born Dec. 30, 1948, in Williamsport, Pa. He served as an engineer in the Army and was stationed in Texas and Korea. After being discharged, he traveled to Colorado, where he met Laurie Dworkow, a Westport native who was in Denver to attend college. Together they founded Martin Uniques, an electronic jewelry gallery and studio. They were married on June 10, 1979—32 years to the day before his death.

On moving to Westport in the early '80s, the couple continued to custom-design jewelry at the same time that Martin began working for Micrognosis, a computer manufacturer and systems integration company based in Georgetown. Over the course of the decade he oversaw trading floor installations for the New York Stock Exchange and financial institutions in Paris, Zurich, London, Australia and Tokyo.

Fueling his accomplishments were an adventurous spirit, an original and seemingly inexhaustible creative energy, and an uncanny ability to solve complex problems. Drew Henderson, a co-founder of Micrognosis who hired Martin, remembers the rarity of that ability. "He didn't have a classic engineering discipline—he wasn't disciplined—but he had a magical diagnostic ability. Most engineers are too careful. Martin wasn't careful. He had no fear."

On one project, Henderson recalls, Martin was called in to help with a major installation that had encountered an insoluble problem. After pacing and asking questions, he laid down on the floor and a few minutes later announced the solution. "His process wasn't based on scientific methodology," Henderson says. "There didn't seem to be any process. It just happened. I saw this again and again."

Martin will also be remembered by his many friends for his gentle heart, unique sense of humor, and love of family and life. In addition to art, he enjoyed gardening and was a member of the Westport Community Gardens.

A celebration of Martin Crouse's life will be held at the Unitarian Church on Lyons Plain Road in Westport on Friday, June 17, at 11 a.m.

Did you know Martin? Share your memories of him below.

 

 

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