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Menlo Park man dies 2 months after stabbing

by Sandy Brundage

A funeral service was held June 5 for a 67-year-old Menlo Park businessman who had been stabbed during a robbery in March. Police have not yet announced whether his death is related to the attack.

Two men attacked Lawrence Cronin as he stepped outside an office building at 1100 Alma St. around 9:45 p.m. on March 26, police said. The victim told police the assailants stabbed him while trying to commit robbery. Investigators reported that he was in stable condition at a local hospital following the attack.

Both assailants were described as Hispanic and about 5-foot-8-inches tall, with short hair and thin builds, and investigators released a sketch of one suspect.

Visit tinyurl.com/Sketch-330 to see the sketch.

Police spokesperson Nicole Acker said there are no new leads in the case.

Mr. Cronin, who owned an insurance brokerage in Menlo Park and belonged to the Menlo Circus Club, died May 30. The San Mateo County Coroner's Office declined to release the cause of death, and no information was available as to whether it was related to the stabbing.

His friends and family held the funeral service at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park, followed by a reception at the Menlo Circus Club.

Long-time friend Doug Lawrence enjoyed playing basketball with Mr. Cronin. "I often defended him because I was so awful at the game and he was so willing to extend me a little grace," he said, and described a man who played a strategic game. "If he got away with a particularly clever move, he got a little devilish look in his eye, and the side of his lips would turn up slightly — sort of a 'gotcha' look. He loved to play like a clever, bright, and skillful kid, which he pretty much was. He was a wonder to watch! You can form a treasured friendship with a man on the basketball court."