Donald L Crouch, of Seaford, son of William Edward and Mattie Jane Crouch, passed into rest on January 20, 2026.

After graduating from Laurel High School in 1949, Mr. Crouch attended Salisbury State Teachers College for three years before being accepted at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He subsequently enrolled at the University of Delaware (UD) where he received a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Degree in 1958.

Upon graduation from UD, he accepted a position in the Management Training Program with Bell Telephone of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Upon completion of the training program, he was assigned to supervisory positions of increasing responsibility in various departments. During this time, he was selected to attend a special Telecommunications Engineering 18-week Course at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. In 1968, he was promoted to District Manager and accepted a position in the Engineering Economic Department at AT&T Headquarters in New York. While with AT&T, he was selected to attend a 5-week Economics Engineering Course at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

In 1972, he rotated back to Bell of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia- first as a District Manager in the Equipment Engineering Department, followed by an assignment in the Buildings Engineering Department and then in the Business Customer Service Department.

In January 1983, in preparatory work prior to Bell System divestiture, he was assigned to prepare a plan for the transfer of engineering work, including the outplacement of personnel associated with the Mid-Atlantic Region organization. Coincident with divestiture in 1984, he assumed a Material Logistics District level position with AT&T Information Systems at King of Prussia, PA. In 1984, he decided to accept an offer for early retirement. In 1986, he ventured into a new career and purchased two H&R tax franchises. In 1998, it was time for full retirement.

Mr. Crouch was a member of the Delaware Association of Registered Professional Engineers, a life member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, past member of the National Association of Tax Practitioners, past member of the Laurel Alumni Association and a member of AARP. He is a member of Gethsemane Church. There he served on the Financial Committee, the Administration Council, the Lay Leadership Committee and the Staff-Parish Committee. He also completed the four Discipleship Courses and was a member of a Bible Study Group.

In addition to his parents, Donald was preceded in death by his brother, Colonel William Edward Crouch Jr, sister-in-law, Betty Jane (BJ), and niece, Regina Spann. He is survived by his brother, Francis, and sister, Jean, and her husband, Link Spann, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.