BIOGRAPHY

Cropsey was born in Oakland, California, USA on 4 September 1911. His parents were Giles Cropsey, Sr. (1884– 1947) and Annie Page (1886–1989). He had two brothers: Myron Cropsey (1910–2011) and Errol Cropsey (1913–2006). He grew up poor, and started working at a young age to support his family after his father got ill and lost his job.

After graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1929, he entered the College of Marin, where he was a percussionist with the Marin Symphony, and where he met his future wife, Marie Louise Cassetta (1913–1999). The couple got married on 24 September 1938, and subsequently had three children. Cropsey became a successful certified public accountant in Oakland, where he handled many major accounts, and was a partner at the John C. Forbes & Co. accounting firm in San Francisco.

After retiring, he enjoyed traveling and attending concerts. He was a big fan of the Oakland Symphony. In 2000, a year after his wife’s passing, Cropsey made a $500,000 gift to the Oakland East Bay Symphony’s Endowment Fund.

Cropsey passed away in his sleep from natural causes at the Sunrise Senior Living facility in Oakland, California, USA, on 14 September 2022, at the age of 111 years, 10 days.

RECOGNITION

At the time of death, he might have been the second-oldest living man in the United States (after Ezra Hill of Maryland), and the oldest living man in California (though Francis Zouein of California claimed to have been older than Cropsey).

His age was verified by an anonymous researcher, and validated by LongeviQuest on 3 July 2023.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Symphony celebrates 99-year-old Oakland music teacher” – Oakland North, 20 October 2010

* “Oakland resident, who was California’s oldest living man, dies at age 111” – KTVU FOX 2, 20 September 2022

GALLERY