Jean Elizabeth Powers Crenshaw, loving wife of Thomas Thompson Crenshaw III and mother to Sarah Haun of Los Altos, California; Betsy (Chris) Kaeli of Monmouth Beach, NJ; Rachel (Drew) Hegner of Shrewsbury, NJ; and Tommy (Melissa) Crenshaw of Savannah, Georgia went home to the Lord on February 4th, 2023 due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease. In addition to her children, she is survived by two of her five sisters: Cornelia Courtney and Susan Washburn, and three of her brothers-in-law: Tom Barber, Bob Barker and Gary Washburn. She was predeceased by her parents, Fremont and Sallie Powers; her sisters, Sally Ann Thomson, Donna Barber, and Corinne Barker; her brothers-in-law Ted Thomson and Bill Courtney; and her nephews, Tommy Thomson and Bobby Barker. She leaves behind ten grandchildren and many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and close friends.
Jean was the fourth daughter born to Freem and Sallie Powers of Watertown, NY on January 16, 1944 in Oneida, NY. A 1956 graduate of Watertown High School, she went on to graduate from Colby Junior College and launched her career working for the American Embassy in Santiago, Chile. Following her marriage to Tom, she worked in various secretarial positions, donating much of her time to church ministry at churches in Pennsylvania, Florida and New Jersey.
Jean’s happiest times were spent at their family cottage in Henderson Harbor, NY where she and Tom shared summers with their children and their families. If you listened carefully, you could hear her laughing and singing with her sisters from White’s Bay to the Gill House. She was a devoted Grandmother–“Lovey”--to Jackson, Ella, Sallie, Annabelle, Everett, Wyatt, Wren, Reese, Tommy, and Helen and cherished her time with each of them.