Alice Crawford Thomas

1943 - 2022

Alice Crawford Thomas
1943-2022
Alice Crawford Thomas of Houston, spitfire and never-ending role model, died on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 after a six month illness. She is survived by her adoring husband and best friend of 56 years, Lewis Proctor (Terry) Thomas III; two devoted daughters, Kendall T. Scheffey and Kathleen S. Thomas, her loyal son-in-law Eric H. Scheffey; and four grandchildren, Heston T. Scheffey, Alice J. Scheffey, Sloan L. Woodberry and J. Carson Woodberry. She is also survived by her sister, Mary Crawford Wolff, Mary's husband David S. Wolff, and her sister-in-law Suzanne B. Crawford, wife of deceased brother, Walter J Crawford Jr.
Alice's life of exploration began in Beaumont, Texas. Her parents, Walter Joshua Crawford and Mary Edna McKallip Crawford, inspired in her a zest for life with a passion for the outdoors and lifelong learning. Educated at St. Stephens in Austin, she went on to become a Plan II Longhorn. Attending workshops and avidly reading, she continued to seek knowledge up to the day she died.
In 1965, she married Terry. After a year in Salt Lake City, they moved to Houston where Alice made her mark through her wide variety of talents and interests. She is remembered as a woman with boundless energy, a disarming smile, a great sense of humor, and strong ideals. Her unyielding curiosity even led to a proficiency in "Trucker Lingo" on the CB radio.
While raising her daughters, she actively engaged with Houston's civic and cultural organizations, including the Junior League, Texas Children's Hospital Asthma Clinic, Houston Ballet, the Jung Center, the Garden Club of Houston, Houston Center for Photography, the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice, and The Women's Institute. She served on the Board of FotoFest and most recently, on the Cultural Arts Council at U.T.'s College of Fine Arts.
A natural athlete and outdoorswoman, Alice was a remarkable skier, marathon runner (Boston, Dallas and Houston in noteworthy times), and could knock the cover off of a tennis ball. More recently, she tackled golf and unsurprisingly became a tournament player.
Alice spent summers in Chautauqua Park in Boulder, Colorado where she summited 14'ers while identifying wildflowers. She was a master fly caster, tying her own flies, capturing not only every rainbow and brown trout in the Rockies and New Zealand, but also the elusive permut in Belize. Alice and Terry saw the world together, including adventures on six continents.
Even with all of her talents and interests, Alice's "Happy Place" was her garden. Excelling in horticulture with the Garden Club of Houston and the Garden Club of America, no one could compete with her succulents, which she collected from all over the country. After winning numerous awards for her plants, she proudly became a horticulture judge. Her final tribute to her garden was a new crepe myrtle planted in December.
With all of her accolades, Alice exemplified grace and dignity. She leaves her multitude of friends and family with the inspiration for hope and growth that she treasured in nature.
The family will host a celebration of Alice's life, a life very well lived, at a date to be announced. It was Alice's wish that any contributions to charity in her memory be sent to The Houston Botanic Garden, 8205 N. Bayou Drive, Houston, Texas 77017, or to any of the charities mentioned above.