Submitted by: Dan Rich
Mary M. Crawford
May 19, 1912 - Jan. 29, 2001
Mary M. (Fiedler) Crawford, 88, passed away on Monday, Jan. 29, in the home of her daughter, Connie Bergquist in Tallahassee, Fla.
The daughter of William and Lena Futter Fiedler, Mrs. Crawford was born on May 19, 1912, in South Bend, Ind., where she spent her childhood. She graduated from South Bend High School, attended Wittenberg University in Dayton, Ohio, for two years, and later graduated from Valparaiso University.
On Sept. 19, 1937, Mrs. Crawford married James Robert Crawford, the son of David Leigh and Jennie Belle Cooper Crawford of Xenia, Ohio. They lived first in Xenia and relocated to South Bend in 1941. Mrs. Crawford taught in various South Bend city schools prior to her marriage and, from 1952 until her retirement in 1977, completing her teaching career as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years at German Township School.
Mrs. Crawford was an active, life-time member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church until moving to live with her daughter in Tallahassee in 1998. She was a founding member of Kappa Phi Sigma Sorority in South Bend. She was one of the first volunteers for Meals On Wheels, continued delivering meals for over 25 years, and volunteered for the South Bend Public Library, delivering books for home-bound people for 20 years.
A devoted wife and mother, Mrs. Crawford follows her husband in death by three days.
She is survived by four daughters and their husbands, Kay and Ben Locke of Gambier, Ohio, Sallie and Ralph Spears of Indianapolis, Ind., Connie and Gilbert Bergquist of Tallahassee, and Marcee and John Sarracino of Los Alamos, N.M. Also surviving are her sister, Ruth Anderson of South Bend; 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; seven nieces and nephews; and many good friends.
Services for Mrs. Crawford will be held jointly with her husband, James Robert Crawford, at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 2, in the Welsheimer's Funeral Home, 521 North William Street. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1, in Welsheimer's.
A memorial service will also be held at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Indianapolis, Ind., on April 29th. (nf)