Madison-Hall County GaArchives Obituaries.....Crowe, William Frances September 6, 2006 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Christine Crumley - Brown http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00013.html#0003050 January 6, 2007, 5:59 pm Madison County Journal, 14 Sep 2006 The Rev. William Frances Crowe, 87, of Gainesville, died Wednesday, September 6, 2006. He was born November 21, 1918, to the late Charlie Francis Crowe and Sallie Echols Crowe in Madison County. He was the sixth of ten children in the sharecroppers family. The work ethic developed in the fields during his formative years served him well throughout his life, and he never lost his love of gardening. After graduating from Comer High School in 1938, he received a Business Certificate from Monroe A & M Vocational School, Monroe, in 1939. He served as Project Secretary for the National Youth Administration at Chapman Springs Camp, Covington, and at Jackson Lake Camp, College Park, in 1939 and 1940. Rev. Crowe was baptized during a revival on August 18, 1938, at Vineyards Creek Baptist Church in Madison County. In the spring of 1940, during his service at Jackson Lake he answered a call to the ministry and applied for admission to Mercer University, Macon, to study theology. He entered the theology program at Mercer in September of 1940. He was ordained to the gospel ministry on November 29, 1942, by his home church, Vineyards Creek Baptist Church. He served his first pastorates while attending Mercer and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1944. While at Mercer, he served as President of the Ministerial Association and was selected for membership in the Blue Key National Honor Fraternity. After completing his studies at Mercer, Rev. Crowe returned to Madison County where he pastored several churches while teaching and serving as principal at area high schools. On June 3, 1945 he married Winnie Sue Carithers, who was to work side by side with him throughout his ministry. In September of 1947 he entered Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. While pursuing his Master of Divinity degree, he served as pastor of Long Lick Baptist Church in Stamping Ground, Kentucky. Upon his graduation in 1950, he returned to pastorates in Madison County. In September of 1952 he accepted the call to serve as pastor of a small mission in Savannah. During his five years there, the mission was constituted as a church, grew in membership from 50 to 500, and acquired land for and built a sanctuary and an educational building. In May of 1957 Rev. Crowe was called to serve as Director of Missions for the Chattahoochee Baptist Association, Gainesville. This ministry became his and his wife’s labor of love. Together they moved quietly and effectively among the Association’s churches, providing leadership and support to pastors, laymen, and church programs. One of the greatest pleasures of his life was the enjoyment of close personal relationships established throughout the Association. Rev. Crowe was widely recognized by his peers as an exemplary model in leading a successful associational missions program. In 1981 he was named Outstanding Missionary Leader by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. In that year he also served as Vice President of the Georgia Baptist Convention. During the 1980s and 1990s he served on the Board of Trustees of Baptist Village, Waycross, for three four-year terms, including two years as Chairman. In 1975 the Gainesville Civitan Club named him Citizen of the Year for his service to Gainesville and Hall County, in particular for his ministry to young people and for the establishment of Camp Hope, week-long summer experiences for disadvantaged or troubled youth. Rev. Crowe retired from the Association in December of 1983. From 1984 to 1987 he served in thirteen interim pastorates in Northeast Georgia. In 1998 he was named Associational Missionary Emeritus by the Chattahoochee Baptist Association. He was a faithful member of First Baptist Church Green Street, where he was also a member of the Berean Sunday School Class. Rev. Crowe was preceded in death by his wife, Sue Carithers Crowe; brothers Henry Grady Crowe, Crawford Willis Crowe, James Robert Crowe, and George Ray Crowe; and sisters Mary Crowe Patten, Lucy Crowe Adams, Cornelia Crowe Poss, Edna Crowe Patten, and Laura Crowe Conwell Bradshaw. Survivors include his daughter, Susan Rea Crowe of Gainesville, sons and daughters-in-law, Glyn William Crowe and Charline NeSmith Crowe of Tyrone, and Don Raymond Crowe and Linda Callans Crowe of Brookings, S.D.; granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Renee Brown Gerrell and Ronald D. Gerrell, Gainesville, grandson Wayne L. Brown, Jr. of Gainesville, and granddaughter Susanna Colleen Crowe of Brookings, S.D.; great-grandchildren Kala Eryn Brown of Cumming, and Ivy Carithers Gerrell, Lily Coffman Gerrell, John William Gerrell, and Hank Walton Gerrell of Gainesville; and numerous nieces and nephews. Memorial services were held Sunday, September 10, in the Chapel of First Baptist Church on Green Street with Dr. Bill Coates and Rev. Bruce Fields officiating. Interment was at Alta Vista Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the First Baptist Church Ministry of Caring or the Camp Hope Ministry of the Chattahoochee Baptist Association. Memorial Park Funeral Home of Gainesville was in charge of arrangements File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/madison/obits/c/crowe6337gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 5.8 Kb