Thomas M Crosby Jr

Crosby was the son of two great Minnesota milling families, the Pillsburys and Crosbys, and he built a career as a respected real estate attorney, civic leader and, more recently, as mayor of Medina, his longtime hometown. Yet he equally relished the physical labor of baling hay and working on the hobby farm with his wife, Ellie. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1965 and began a 43-year career at Faegre & Benson (now Faegre Baker Daniels). In 1978, he oversaw one of the nation’s largest real estate deals, when Dayton Hudson sold nine of its regional shopping centers, including the four “Dales” in the Twin Cities area. The deal was worth $305 million, or about $1 billion in current dollars. Crosby also had a hand in several major downtown Minneapolis projects, including the purchase and sale of IDS Center, as well as development of the new Orchestra Hall and securing private development rights around the Metrodome. Following a tradition of public service set by his parents and grandparents, Crosby served on more than a dozen corporate boards and nonprofit foundations. He was a member of the Minnesota Orchestra board for 31 years. This fall he was re-elected to his third term as mayor of Medina with 66 percent of the vote. In addition to his wife and older son Stewart, Crosby is survived by sons Brewster Crosby, of Portland, Ore., and Grant Crosby, of Anchorage; daughter Brooke Reed, of Greenville, S.C., and nine grandchildren.