S. David Cronig died Sept. 24 at The Henrietta Brewer House with his family by his side. He was 106 and was the last surviving member of five Cronig siblings.

He was born May 19, 1914 in Rochester, the first son of Lithuanian immigrants Sam and Libby Cronig, He came to the Vineyard at the age of two when his family returned to the island to open Cronig’s Market. David attended the new Tisbury School and grew up working in the family’s store, run by Sam and his brothers. In his spare time he played saxophone and clarinet in Eddie Medeiros’s band. He later joined the Tisbury Town Band, which he was a member of for decades.

After a brief 12-year stint delivering oil for R.M. Packer and serving in the Coast Guard, David took over the family business with his four siblings, Robbie, Carly, Anne, and Ruthie. David ran the grocery store with his brother Robbie until retiring in 1980.

With such a long and somewhat public life, there are any one of many stories to tell about David, Grace — his wife of nearly 80 years who died four years ago — their children or the grocery store. David was enormously proud of his work and service to the Island community in the growth of the market over the years, and took great pleasure from an unwavering commitment to his role as a Freemason.

Grace and Dave were consummate grandparents: proud, hands on and always present. They enjoyed every minute with their grandchildren, including Rubin and Lily (the children of Donald, who was the baby in the family and was born after Marsha and Jeffrey, both now deceased) right until the last moments, squeezing Lily’s hand at the end.

They played any game ever asked of them, taught many others, and always listened to the stories and ramblings their young and older grandchildren offered up. They shared dinners and bagels with lox, celebrations and sadness with dignity and joy for many years in many locations.

David and Grace will be missed, and their family is forever grateful to have had and held their love and presence as it continues to inform their lives.

They are interred together in the Hebrew Cemetery in Vineyard Haven, the town where they lived for most of their lives.

Special gratitude and love also go to David and Grace’s longtime caregiver Danille, without whom David’s elder life would not have been possible.

Donations can be made to the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School or Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard.