WEBMASTER NOTE: While this website section has focused on FOSA personnel, we believe it would be appropriate to also include these thoughts on Dan Cruson. Dan was both well-known and highly thought of by many members of FOSA; and as noted in the article, he was a strong and guiding force for archaeology in Connecticut since before FOSA itself was founded. He will be missed by all in the Connecticut archaeological community.

This winter the Connecticut archaeological community lost a giant among its ranks. Dan Cruson, who served as the President of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut (ASC) for over 18 years, passed after a prolonged illness on February 21 at the age of 76. Dan was a noted educator, historian, author and archaeologist, but to all of us, he was a devoted and loyal friend. His excavations at Israel Putnam State Park brought to light new information on Putnam's Revolutionary War Encampment and the hardships the Patriot soldiers suffered there during the bitter winter of 1778-79. His scholarship was well established; his many students adored him and started careers under his tutorship.

Dan Cruson taught archaeology as well as local history, anthropology economics and East Asian history at Joel Barlow High School for 37 years. He also served as the first official Town Historian for Newtown, CT for over 25 years, delivering talks, leading walking tours and writing many articles and books. Amazon currently describes 11 of his works and this is only a partial list.

At the ASC, we knew Dan as a leader, running 3 board meetings and two membership meetings a year for decades with steady calm, eloquence and wit. He additionally delivered many presentations on his own research, authored numerous bulletin articles and countless President's letters in ASC News.

When FOSA was formed, Dan was unsure how this new organization that supported the Office of State Archaeology would fit in with the existing ASC. However, before long Dan realized the powerful one-two punch both organizations could bring to the state and the opportunities partnership had for creating awareness about CT archaeology.

Cynthia Redman writes that "shortly after I became President of FOSA in 2009, Dan approached me to see if I was interested in developing collaborations between the two organizations, the purpose being to increase the footprint of archaeology in Connecticut and membership activity across both organizations. I was. Although there were differences of purpose for each organization, there were also areas of mutual concern and interest. So, Mike Raber and I sat down with Lee West and Dan and developed the following areas of collaboration: an appointed exofficio member to sit on the opposite group's board; yearly reports by FOSA and ASC at the annual meetings of each organization; co-sponsorship of the FOSA annual meeting speaker; sharing expenses/profits and working together on events and activities for Archaeology Awareness month."

After 10 years at the helm of the ASC, the longest tenure in that position in the history of the organization, Dan had more than earned a comfortable retirement. In 2006 he found an able successor in the late Harold Juli, a well-respected educator and archaeologist who had many ideas for new directions for the organization. However, no sooner had Harold stepped into his new role than he was tragically stricken with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, and within a year filled with debilitating treatments he was gone. On that somber occasion Dan stepped up again and led the organization for another 8 years.

Finally, in 2014, our long-serving State Archaeologist Nick Bellantoni made the difficult decision to retire from that position, and Brian Jones was appointed to take his place. Nick quickly agreed to serve as president of the ASC in a very gradual unwinding of his role in Connecticut Archaeology, so Dan had finally found a successor. Nick was feted in a retirement part at UConn on September 4, and it was that happy moment for him, Brian and Dan that is captured in the second photo.

Nevertheless, Dan continued to serve as a Director of ASC until illness made travel impossible for him in recent years.

Nick Bellantoni recalls that Dan was a natural leader, whose style was soft-spoken, but expressed with determination and vision. We will not only miss his smile, humor, dedication, hard work, perseverance, leadership, and of course, the twinkle in his eyes when he found something new to consider, but we also truly understand that he could never be replaced in the many roles Dan Cruson played in the history of our state's archaeology. ASC and the Connecticut archaeological community are all the better due to Dan Cruson's leadership and personality. We are sincerely saddened by his loss and our hearts are extended to his family.

Dan leaves his three sons, Daniel, Thomas and Benjamin, two grandsons Danny and Nick, his daughter-in-law Bethany and his ex-wife Carolyn. Online remembrances or photos can be left at dancrusonmemory@gmail.com and a celebration of Dan's life is planned at a later date.