- Date Of Birth: January 27, 1945
- Date Of Death: August 26, 2013
- State: Colorado
Arlean Jamison was born in Bruce, Mississippi to her parents, Bishop James L. Crowley, Sr. and Vera Mae Ford Crowley. She was the thirteenth of seventeen children born in the family. Having been raised in a small town, she shared a special closeness with her siblings. She received her early education in Derma, Mississippi where she attended Gaston Chapel Grade School and it was also where her mother was her teacher through the fifth grade. In her own writings, Arlean reflected, “I received my first D in Arithmetic when I was in the fifth grade and it came from my mother.” “I did learn that she was not prejudice. If you earn it, you got! was her mother’s motto. The family eventually relocated to Denver, Colorado and Arlean attended Cole Junior High School and graduated from Manual High School. She furthered her education by attending Denver Opportunity School to become a Registered Nurse. She later transferred to Arapahoe Community College and started courses to earn her certification to become a Mortician. Her internship was completed at Grandberry Mortuary then located in Denver, Colorado owned and operated by T.G. Grandberry. For the next ten years, she worked as the Secretary and also Embalmer for the mortuary. When the Grandberry’s sold the business to Thomas Hill and he renamed it House of Hills, she worked with the Hills until the death of her father.
