I am truly saddened to announce the passing my friend Joe Cro " Vortex Joe" N3IBX . A friend and truly a old time "class" HAM. SK 4/18/19
Very sad to hear of Joe's passing have known him since at least the early 90s and we have spoken for many hours on the air including AM on the different bands. Joe was also a regular at area hamfests.
Joseph M. Cro, 493, N3IBX SK Joseph M. Cro May 8, 1958 ~ April 18, 2019 Joseph M. Cro, age 60, of Washington Crossing, PA, passed away suddenly on Thursday, April 18, 2019 at St. Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, PA. Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Cro lived in Yardley before moving to Washington Crossing 21 years ago. Prior to his retirement, he had been employed as a resource controller for SEPTA for 27 years. Joseph was a ham radio enthusiast, and enjoyed collecting, building, and operating ham radios. He was a member of the Antique Wireless Association and the American Radio Relay League. Mr. Cro was a Mason, belonging to the Athelton/Lamberton Lodge F. & A.M. He liked older cars, but really loved his six cats. Son of the late Louis J. Cro, he is survived by his wife Jocelyn B. (Fritsch) Cro, his mother Antoinette (Cairone) Cro, and several nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws. Relatives and friends are invited to Celebrate his Memorial Mass at 11 AM on Friday, April 26, 2019 at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, 201 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Morrisville, PA. Interment of his cremated remains will follow in the parish cemetery. Friends may call Friday morning from 9:30 - 10:30 AM at the J. Allen Hooper Funeral Chapel, 41 W. Trenton Ave., Morrisville, PA 19067. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to St. Mary Medical Center, www.stmaryhealthcare.org. https://www.hooperfuneralchapel.com/notices/Joseph-Cro
Oh no. I knew Joe. Great guy....amazing collection. He was only 60....gosh.... 73 es RIP de Jim, N2EY
OK Lee. service was nice, a little wet between the stops. Maybe see you at the Warminster fest 5/5/19. I think Joe would have liked us all to have a 807 in memory, which I am doing now. John WA2NNG
Sorry I will not be able to make that Hamfest. My Condolences in the loss of your friend. Best 73, K2HAT Lee
Just read of "Vortex Joe's" passing, how sad. I remember the 'ol days on 3.885 with Joe, "The Derb" Timtron, 'IRB and many more that provided hours of entertainment and lots of laughs ! Although I was not very active on AM as far as transmitting, I did enjoy listening in. RIP Joe ! de K2JX
I have been inactive for about two years and was shocked and saddened (to say the least) when I saw Joe's call and name in the "Silent Keys" column in QST. I did not know that he passed away until I got the July QST in the mail a couple of days ago. We used to chat, sometimes for hours, on 160 meter AM. I will really miss that nice radio voice with just a hint of Philadelphia! Joe's basement was a radio museum and he showed me a very rare tube a few years ago: a Sodion, a kind of triode tube that competed with Lee DeForest's Audion and that was frosted on the inside, presumably to try to circumvent the DeForest patents by making the elements invisible without destroying the tube. A few years ago, I located a 1 kW Gates AM broadcast transmitter and the two of us managed somehow to get it into his basement. I don't know if he ever put it on the air. R.I.P., N3IBX. Phil K2PG
