PRISCILLA SCOTT CROMMELIN

Priscilla Scott CrommelinPriscilla Cooper Scott Crommelin died, at 90 years, Sunday morning, June 13, 2010at her home at ToulousePlantation in Elmore County.Priscilla was born on the shortest day of the year -- December 21, 1919. Her birthplacewas Savannah, Georgia,where she was baptized at St.Paul's Protestant EpiscopalChurch.The day after Priscilla's WinterSolstice birth, her Aunt JuliaGunter, the wife of then Montgomery Mayor William Gunter, is reported to have said,""Priscilla was born, and thenext day the sun shown longer."" That observation provedtrue for a lifetime.Priscilla's mother and fatherwere Kathleen Ann Swainand Thomas Baytop Scott, ofScotia Plantation near MountMeigs, Alabama, to whichthe family returned fromGeorgia while Priscilla was alittle girl. It was explained toPriscilla as a child that shewas the great-granddaughterof Priscilla Cooper Tyler, theFirst Lady of the United Statesduring the Presidency of JohnTyler and that she should livewith that always in mind--which she did.After a joyful Alabama childhood and youth that included ballet, schooling atSidney Lanier High School,and work for the AlabamaHighway Department, Priscillamarried Lt. Quentin ClaiborneCrommelin, U.S. Navy on May5, 1943 and remained in marriage for 54 years -- much of itas a Naval Aviator's wife withthe many attendant and often stressful duties.Mrs. Crommelin is survived byher son, Quentin Crommelin,Jr., a retired Army Lt. Col.; herdaughter, Priscilla CrommelinBall, Executive Director of theMontgomery Ballet; hergrandchildren, Charles Crommelin-Monnier and PriscillaCrommelin-Monnier; her sisters, Grace Scott Lacy andAnn Scott Wood; and herbrother, Robert Tyler Scott.Mrs. Crommelin was preceded in death by her parents, her infant son, CharlesLaurence de Berniere Crommelin; and two sisters, Moselle Scott Pointer and HelenScott Foster.Priscilla was a member ofmany national and localclubs and organizations including The National Societyof Colonial Dames of America, The First White House ofthe Confederacy, The Daughters of the American Revolution, Antiquarians, and Tintagil. She was a life-long member of St. John's EpiscopalChurch.Mrs. Crommelin was notablyactive in many arts organizations but was most passionateabout The Montgomery Ballet, of which was Presidentfrom 1973-1975.Mrs. Crommelin had a prestigious career in art as a painter. She trained initially underCharles Shannon in Montgomery and at the Art Students League in New York,and ultimately was electedas Member of L'AcademieCulteral de France.She was one of a very fewcontemporary Americans tohave had works selected bythe Salon d' Automne at theGrand Palais in Paris, France.In consequence, she is represented abroad in numerouscollections in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the MiddleEast.In 1985, she had a solo exhibition at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. She was ajuried exhibitor also at the ArtExpo of New York. She is represented in the Blount American Collection with MaryCassatt, Winslow Homer, andFrederick Childe Hassam.Mrs. Crommelin was applauded by critics in numerous French publications including Paris Soir, Le Matin,and Le Nouveau Journal aswell as winning prizes in several dozen juried shows nationally and locally. The styleand quality of her work wereconsistently compared to thatof Cezanne.Pallbearers at the Burial Service for Mrs. Crommelin atSaint John's Episcopal Church(4:00 P.M., Wednesday, June16, 2010) will be Richard A.Ball, Jr., James Marks Scott,Quentin Claiborne Crommelin, Jr., Larry Bozeman, Samuel Claiborne Forrer, Daniel Atwell Forrer, Charles Crommelin-Monnier, and Samuel Alexander Forrer.Honorary Pallbearers areCaptain Samuel White Forrer,U.S. Navy (ret.), Bishop MiltonL. Wood, Robert Tyler Scott,Francis Beaulieu, John Baytop Scott, John Campbell Forrer and Frederick SebastianBall, III.Her family suggests that, inlieu of flowers, donations bemade to the MontgomeryBallet, St. John's EpiscopalChurch, or Sav-a-Life.Leak-Memory ChapelDirectingwww.leak-mc.com