Obituary of Irene Crews

B I O G R A P H Y CREWS: Irene Annie Crews passed away suddenly on Saturday, September 17, 2005 at the age of 65 years. Irene is survived by: her loving husband James of Lloydminster; two sons: Donald Crews and his wife Christina of Lloydminster; Vincent Crews and his wife Linda also of Lloydminster; Carla Batke and her husband Shawn of Bonnyville; five grandchildren as well as numerous other relatives. The funeral service for Irene was conducted from the Grace United Church, Lloydminster, Alberta on Monday, September 26, 2005 at 2:00 P.M. with Reverend Norman Laird. A eulogy was given by nephew Jim Crews. Hymns sung were “In The Garden,” and “The Old Rugged Cross,” accompanied on the organ by Irene Knowlson. The Grace United Church choir was also in attendance. Active pallbearers were: James Wich, Jim Parkins, Lloyd Steinkey, Roy Kirkpatrick, Ron Gainsforth, Robert Challman for Charlie Challman, Paul Johns and Lloyd Hanke Jr. Interment followed in the Lloydminster City Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy for Irene Crews For those of you who do not know me, my name is Jim Crews. I am the nephew of Irene Crews. It seems strange every time I hear her called Irene, because to me, she will always be Auntie Renie. I have been asked by Uncle James and his family to pay tribute to my Auntie Renie. I only hope that I can pay a proper tribute to 65 years of amazing life, in just a few short minutes. As my Uncle James said to me on Saturday night, “How do you try to sum up Mother’s life in a few minutes, when there is so much to tell?” Auntie Renie was born as the only child on August 1st, 1940 to Albert and Myrtle Allan in Pouce Coupe, British Columbia. She went to school in Bessborough B.C., which is close to the Dawson Creek area. In 1954, her family moved to Alberta, and Auntie Renie went to school in Paradise Valley for one year. In 1955, the Allan family left Paradise Valley for the bluer skies of Lloydminster, where they bought a homestead four miles south of town. Auntie Renie had a passion for music, and started teaching accordion lessons when she was only 16 years old. One of her fortunate students happened to be Helen Crews. The good fortune was actually for Uncle James, as he started dating the mild mannered music teacher; and six months later, they were married on November 10, 1962. Uncle James and Auntie Renie lived in Lloydminster until 1968 and then moved to the Allan homestead, where they raised their family. Donald Crews was born in 1965, followed by Vincent in 1967, and 1968 saw the arrival of Carla Crews a few days before Christmas. Auntie Renie wore a lot of different hats. She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a sister-in-law, a teacher and a friend. She had the ability to be each of these things to different people with a unique grace and ease. You can see the legacy that she has left by simply looking at her children, her grandchildren and everyone here today to show their respects. She took great pleasure in teaching what she knew to those around her. Uncle James said that she would always read the science and geographic magazines and pass along all of the little interesting items to him, and this is how he had learned so much about these things. Although she stopped teaching music after her and James were married, she passed along her passion for music to her kids. Every now and then, she would pull out her accordion and play a song or two for the kids, always leaving them wishing for one more song. She taught Carla how to play the organ, and loved listening to her daughter play. Sometimes Auntie Renie and Carla would play together. Carla recalls that a couple of Auntie Renie’s favorite songs were “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Abide with Me”. When Carla was younger they would play these songs and Auntie Renie would sing along. Not many people were privileged enough to hear her sing, but Carla believed that she truly had the voice of an angel. She passed along some of her passion for gardening to her eldest son, Donald. Auntie Renie always had a prize winning garden, full of vegetables and flowers. This passion lives on in Donald, who has his own passion for growing enormous, prize winning pumpkins. Vincent can recall a time when he was pulling into the yard, only to see his Mother yelling and hollering, running out to Don’s pumpkin patch waving a broom trying to scare off a moose and two calves from wrecking the whole patch. Then she came back to the truck still upset because she did not get there soon enough, even though they did not do any damage. Even if she got close enough to the moose and its’ calves, she would have never hurt them, because she believed that all life was precious and she wouldn’t hurt a living thing. All her children can recall a time when rabbits were trying to take over her garden. But, rather than harming the rabbits, she spent extra time and extra expense putting fences around her garden, so that both she and the rabbits could enjoy the garden. This just shows how incredibly kind and loving she was. She also had a love for writing and poetry and books. Every night Auntie Renie would gather her children together and read them bible stories. They couldn’t go to sleep at night without that special time together. It was very important to her that she teach them the bible and the word of God. Although the bedtime stories eventually stopped as the children grew older, the lessons stayed with her three kids to this day. These books still remain in her home, so that the tradition can be passed to her Grandchildren. Not many people may realize that she was an avid member of the Lloydminster Scribes Club. Her beautiful words were published in a book called “Prairie Whispers”. She wrote a poem called “Butterfly”, that I would like to share with you. Butterfly, butterfly, chocolate and bronze, Resting so gently on dark ferny fronds, Life so fragile the wind tips your wings Yet strong, to withstand life’s bitterest stings. Silently floating to the lips of each bloom, Kissing it’s sweetness to keep it from doom. Your life is a breath in the spanning of time… Still, keeping in nature a rhythm and rhyme. The skies would not sparkle in colors unreal Nor the flowers your delicate touch ever feel, If nature did not in its wisdom contain The law that demands, ‘let the meekest remain’. Auntie Renie also made homemaking an art. She took pride in keeping her home in immaculate condition. Even as you drove up to the house, you could smell the fresh baking. From the moment you walked into her kitchen, you were greeted with a hot coffee, a cool drink, a sweet home made treat, or a fabulous meal. She wanted to make sure that each person who came into her home felt as though they were in their own home. She made sure that when you arrived you were welcomed and when you left, you were full! Even if there wasn’t any company expected for supper, she always made extra…just in case someone showed up hungry. That was the kind of forethought that Auntie Renie was famous for. She was always concerned with others. She wanted to make sure others were taken care of before she worried about herself. I can remember a time when I was visiting Uncle James and Auntie Renie. We were sitting in the kitchen, and one of the boys drove up to the house with about a half dozen friends. Before they were even out of their cars, Auntie Renie was up out of her seat to get the boys a bite to eat. I remember thinking to myself, “boy, that sure is a lot of mouths to feed on such short notice”. This was no big deal for Auntie Renie, she was a pro…everyone left stuffed. Donald, Vincent and Carla have all mentioned that their friends were made to feel like her own children. She had a big enough heart to love so many. One of Auntie Renie’s other talents was making a dollar stretch farther and farther. She wrote a book called Penny Pinchers which included topics such as Crafts, Sewing, Cooking, Household, Yard and Garden. She provided her readers with her wisdom and knowledge on how to make your dollar go further, and how to take pride in creating a beautiful home. Another amazing quality of Auntie Renie would have been her unwavering patience. Unknown to most of you, all Crews children, myself included, could be quite a handful in their teenage years. I spent a lot of time with Donald, Vincent and Carla when we were growing up, so I can say this with first hand knowledge. You kids gave your mother grey hair! Not only did Auntie Renie need endless patience, but she also needed a medical degree in order to keep up with the various ailments and broken bones the kids came home with. This past Saturday, I was talking with everyone about a time when Vincent had broken his leg. The doctors informed Auntie Renie that in order to properly repair the broken bone, Vincent’s leg would end up being 1” shorter than the other. Auntie Renie immediately informed them that would work out just fine, because Vince’s other leg just happened to be 1” too short. She also took great pride in being a Grandmother. She always made a big fuss over every accomplishment that her grandchildren made; whether it was something as simple as learning to tie a shoe or as great as a high school graduation. I have a hard time picturing my proper Auntie Renie, with her hair in a bun, sprawling out on her hands and knees on the kitchen floor playing board games with her Grandchildren, but this was something that she loved to do. Her grandchildren are a continuation of her legacy. There was another side to my Auntie Renie as well. Not only did she master everything in her domestic domain, but she also had a feisty business side to her as well. She took care of so many different aspects of their business. If there was a phone call that needed to be made, she did it; if the books needed to be balanced; she did that too. She also had a feisty, yet charming way of collecting on unpaid debts that nobody could match. Auntie Renie was a wife who Uncle James describes as the type of woman who was honest, faithful and helpful. She helped Uncle James with everything possible. She was his eyes and ears at all times. For all who knew them as a couple, they knew that where one was, the other would soon follow. You would rarely see them apart; you could say they were joined at the hip. If there were groceries that needed to be bought, they did that together. If the house needed to be painted, or the garden tended to, they did that together as well. They finished each others sentences and thoughts. She took great interest in Uncles James’ rock and gem hobby, and went to every rock and gem show to encourage and support his hobby. Auntie Renie was truly Uncles James’ soul mate. She knew him better than anyone else. For everyone here, we should all be extremely grateful to be blessed enough to have known her; whether you met her just once, or if you knew her your whole life. She was the type of woman who had the ability to touch a person’s heart with just a few kind words. There are so many other things that I would like to be able to share with you, but as Uncle James said, “How do you sum up Mother’s life in just a few short minutes, when there is so much to tell?: I think that her family summed it up best. Uncle James said that she was the most caring person that he could have possibly ever known. Vincent said that over the years, she taught him direction without leading. Carla said that if she had to describe her Mother in one word it would be “teacher”, and I think that Donald speaks for everyone by saying “She was everything that she could be to everyone that she knew, and she was everything to me. Card of Thanks The family of the late Irene Crews would like to say “Thank You” to all those who attended the funeral, sent cards, sent flowers and made donations in Irene’s name. We would like to extend a special thank you to the staff at McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., and especially to Dave, Glenn and Dale. You were an anchor in our stormy seas.