CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Former Clarksville mayor and veteran Col. (R) Ted Crozier Sr. has passed away from a respiratory illness at the age of 91.
City of Clarksville government confirmed his passing Monday afternoon. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
Crozier devoted his life to service in both the military and civilian sectors.
One of Crozier’s first rounds of service was the 32 years he gave to his country, before his retirement in 1977 at the rank of Colonel. During his military service Crozier served as the first Commander of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell. Crozier was also the first aviator to serve as the chief of staff for the 101st Airborne Division.
In 1978 Crozier threw his hat into the political ring and was elected Mayor of Clarksville, a position he would hold for the next eight years. As mayor he is credited with making many economic decisions involving business, industry and improvements to the infrastructure of the city that greatly added to the growth of Clarksville.
Crozier also presided as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Fort Campbell Historical Foundation.
There is a stretch of roadway that bears the name Ted A. Crozier Sr. Boulevard in Clarksville to honor his legacy.
To honor Col. Crozier, Mayor Kim McMillan ordered that flags at all city facilities shall be lowered to half-staff effective immediately and returned to full-staff at sunset on the day of his interment.
“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of former Mayor Ted Crozier, who was a dear friend and close adviser to me for many years,” Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan said Monday. “Ted gave decades of honorable service to our country as an Army officer, and his love for Fort Campbell expanded into his devotion to Clarksville.
“Mayor Crozier and a key group of his Army colleagues understood how drawing Fort Campbell and Clarksville closer together would be good for both, and he worked tirelessly to close the gap between the installation and the city.
“Ted helped all of us value the unique relationship between the city and the Army, and he inspired me to create a formal Military Liaison office within city government,” Mayor McMillan said. “He truly was a visionary leader, and one of the architects of the strong and thriving Clarksville we enjoy today.”
Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett also commented on Crozier’s passing.
“I first met him when I was working at the Clarksville Street Department when he was city mayor, and even back then he was a man of vision, integrity, and a hard worker. He was honest.”
Durrett also praised Crozier annexation of St. Bethlehem.
“He’ll be dearly missed and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. We were lucky as a community that his career brought him through here. He’ll be missed not only from the community standpoint, but I know the military will miss him as well.”
A Celebration of Life ceremony will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14 at Madison Street United Methodist Church with Rev. Cliff Wright officiating, according to McReynolds-Nave & Larson Funeral Home, the mortuary in charge. Burial with full Military Honors will follow at Greenwood Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 2-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13 at McReynolds-Nave & Larson Funeral Home and from 11 a.m. until the hour of service on Saturday at Madison Street United Methodist Church.