- Date Of Birth: December 17, 1931
- Date Of Death: September 26, 2022
- State: Arizona
Louise Crabtree completed her life’s physical journey on 26 September, 2022 in hospice care following a very brief illness.
To everyone, she was Louise. To me, she was mom. She was born in a the Eastern Kentucky mountain town of Pineville in 1931 at the beginning of the Great Depression. She was the middle child of five. Rachel, Paul, Emma and John have all predeceased her.
In high school she was quite a student and took extra credits so she could graduate early. At age 16, she graduated and moved on to University of the Cumberlands, later transferring to Eastern Kentucky University where she met my dad. Mom always joked about helping dad with his trigonometry homework while understanding how to do it but not how to use it. Dad was the opposite so they were a good pair.
Mom received her teaching certificate and the pair moved to Louisville where mom taught high school as dad finished his degree. Dad was drafted by the army and sent to Fort Bliss, just outside El Paso, Texas, so off they went. Mom got a teaching job right away and found that some of her students did not speak English and that other students would translate for them in real time. She recalled the first time she encountered the name “Jesús” in anything other than a religious context and how she quietly asked around for help to pronounce it the Mexican way. Mom and dad would cross the border to Ciudad Juárez with friends and go to the famous dance club, Noa Noa where the music literally never stopped. They enjoyed life in El Paso and mom reflected on those years often.
After the army, dad got a job in St Paul, Minnesota and they moved again. Another teaching job was mom’s for the asking and she recalled having to drive by the “smelly” Hamm’s brewery every morning and afternoon to get to and from work. Mom loved St Paul but dad could not stand the cold so they moved again to Long Beach, California where mom taught at Leland Stanford Junior High. They loved California, even after an oil well blew out and covered their part of the city with thick crude oil. Mom loved teaching there and gardening in 12 months of good weather.
They bought a small Hallcraft red brick house in central Phoenix and mornings, dad would head to Deer Valley and mom would head to Scottsdale where she taught at the old Scottsdale High School at Scottsdale Road and Indian School. The city had no traffic signals, only stop signs and was jokingly called “Stopsdale”.
Mom took time off to be a mom and growing up I remember her reading to me, teaching me to read, building my vocabulary and taking me around the valley to museums, the main library downtown and on occasion, the Sugar Bowl ice cream shop which still exists in Scottsdale. It was idyllic and I was fortunate to have a stay at home mom who was also a professional educator. Mom took me out of public school when she found that I was bored and moved me to All Saints’ Episcopal Day School. What a change that was for me and mom was asked to join the curriculum committee to help steer the school’s academics. She amused herself by taking art courses, reading and tutoring in those days.
When I was in 6th grade, an incident got the English teacher fired and the school which knew mom’s background asked her to teach English in grades 6-7-8. I was one of her students and academic and home life never crossed paths. She was a true professional. It was also an honor to have her as a teacher and I credit her with helping me get a start on a very good life. She stayed at ASEDS for about 17 years before moving to Phoenix Country Day School where she stayed until her retirement.
She loved all of her students. She loved the high fliers but I think she loved those who struggled even more. If you were in one of her classes, you were loved. If you can conjugate a verb or diagram a sentence, you were probably one of her students. After she retired she would talk to me often about specific students, funny things that happened in class and just her love of teaching and seeing her students grow academically.
A few years ago, two of her students from All Saints’ got together and invited her out to lunch. She could not believe two men in their 40’s with successful businesses would want to take their grade school English teacher to lunch. This happened several times and she loved every minute of it. You know who you are and from my heart to yours, thank you. That was a very special gift that you gave her.
After dad died in 2019, I made sure to spend a lot more time with mom.
She had a perfect codependency relationship with her little Chihuahua, Prince Royce. He is needy and she needed to be needed. It just worked. She was convinced he could understand complete sentences and I am not about to dispute that. She made his three course lunches each day and in the evening, he got his treats and a teaspoon of French vanilla ice cream. He still does. She really loved that little guy.
Emotional expressions did not come easily for her but if you knew how to read her face and words, you got it. She showed love more often than speaking of it. If you knew her, she loved you.
She was an amazing teacher, mom and friend and sharing her with you, her students, enriched my life.
Namaste
