Catherine Irene Crawford

1921 - 2012

Catherine Irene (Jones) Crawford died peacefully Thursday evening, December 13, 2012, at Concord Hospital.

She was born in Seattle, Wash., on May 3, 1921, to Thomas and Margaret (Reed) Jones and grew up on Decatur Island. Her grandfather, John P. Reed, who immigrated from Wales and grandmother, Mary "Tacee" Reed, a Tlingit Indian, were original settlers of the island. Catherine was a member of the Tlingit-Haida Indian Association and an elder stockholder in the tribal-owned Sealaska Corportion. Throughout her life, she shared stories of her family's heritage and fond memories of a childhood surrounded by a loving extended family. She attended the island's one-room schoolhouse through eighth grade and graduated from Anacortes High School in 1938. She studied engineering at the University of Washington, leaving school to care for her ailing mother. She later worked as a draftsman in the Physics Lab at the University.

In 1949, she married Daniel Crawford and moved to New York, settling on Long Island where their five children were born. The family moved to New Hampshire in 1968 and lived in Weare for many years. Her home was filled with books, ideas and lively debates on the issues of the day. She was employed by United Life and the New Hampshire Bankers Association prior to retiring and moved to Concord with her husband, Dan, in 1987. She maintained a lifelong love of books, learning and was highly skilled in knitting, crocheting and embroidery.

She was pre-deceased by her husband, Daniel, and her oldest son, James T. Crawford. She is survived by her children Margaret McDowell and her husband, Bill McDowell, of Lee; Leslie Bergevin and her husband, Gerry Bergevin, of Loudon; and Alison Sinsky and her husband, Bob Sinsky, of Driftwood, Texas; Daniel O. Crawford of Berlin; and daughter-in-law Lisa Kugler of Minneapolis, Minn.; grandchildren Shana, Leah and Daniel Crawford or Minneapolis, Minn.; Philip Bergevin of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Arthur Bergevin of Somerville, Mass.; William McDowell of Athens, Ga., and Andrew McDowell and his wife, Ruth Baldwin, of Berkeley, Calif., and their daughter, Maggie. All have benefited from her gentle wisdom and work to honor a family tradition of kindness.

Visiting hours will be held on Monday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Waters Funeral Home on 50 South Main St. Concord.

Funeral Services will follow in the Chapel of the Waters Funeral Home at 4 p.m. Burial will be Private at a later date.

The family requests that memorial donations be made to John H. Whitaker Place Assisted Living, 30 Borough Road, Penacook, NH 03303.