James Everett Crout

1944 - 2025

James Everett Crout
07/08/1944 - 10/26/2025
James Everett Crout passed away peacefully on October 26, 2025 surrounded by his family. He joins his beloved wife of 60 years, Glenda Faye, who preceded him in death in September. He is survived by daughter, Jessica Crout Russo and son-in-law, Nicholas Russo of Shreveport, LA; son, Timothy Crout of New York; granddaughters, Magdeline Russo of Shreveport, LA, and Mariana Russo of Lexington, KY; sister, Frances Jean "Jeanne" Crout of Frisco, TX, sister, Karen Crout Arneson and husband, Richard Arneson of Pflugerville, TX, and sister-in-law, Diana Witherspoon Massey of Mesquite, TX. He is also survived by nieces, Jennifer Holland Campbell (Jerry), Elisabeth Arneson Jones (Nathan) and Page Massey Staffa (Daniel); nephews, Anthony Massey (Jessica), Joel Massey (Michelle), and Byron Massey (Angela) and their families; as well as many cherished cousins.

Known as "Jim" to his friends and family, he was born July 8, 1944 in Denison, TX, the first surviving child of Mary Frances Bush and Albert Everett Crout. He was joined later by sisters Jeanne in 1947 and Karen in 1950. After graduating from Denison High School in 1962, Jim attended the University of North Texas (then North Texas State University) where he received his degree in Biology. While at North Texas he met his future wife, Glenda, on a blind date, and after a two-year courtship, they married in Denton, TX on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1965. The couple began married life in the small town of Decatur, TX, where Glenda taught high school English and Speech while Jim finished his undergraduate degree. After Jim's acceptance to Baylor College of Medicine, the two relocated to Houston. While Jim studied, Glenda continued her high school teaching career, and in 1970, Jim's internship took them to Iowa City, IA, where they welcomed their first child, Jessica Ashley. The next year the family moved to Rochester, MN, where Jim completed a four-year residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Rheumatology at The Mayo Clinic. While there, they welcomed Timothy Shoun in 1972, and their family was complete. The next stop was Oakland, CA, where Jim served in the Navy, practicing Rheumatology at Oakland Naval Hospital. After seven years out of state, they decided to return home to Texas and settled in Austin where Jim joined the Rheumatology department at the Austin Diagnostic Clinic. Over the course of his practice, Jim helped shepherd both his department and the Clinic through over three decades of change and growth as a partner, section head, and board member. After 37 wonderful years in Austin, Jim and Glenda retired to Shreveport, LA, to be closer to their grandchildren.

"I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty." - John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

If you knew Jim, nothing loomed larger in his life than his sense of duty. Raised with earnest, small-town values, he was–from the start–a conscientious son and protective older brother who embraced these roles as lifetime commitments. He strongly believed in a framework for life: put God first, work hard, build a family, and give back. As a student, Jim excelled not through intelligence alone but through hard work, perseverance, and a complete devotion to the task at hand. As a husband, father, and eventually grandfather, he was fully committed to his family's welfare throughout their lives with almost a "cradle-to-grave" mentality. As a physician, he took his Hippocratic Oath as sacrosanct and was as committed to maintaining the highest standards of technical care as he was to providing compassionate guidance to his patients. Jim was a generous practitioner often donating his time and expertise in various mission fields, including multiple trips to the barrios of Juarez, Mexico. His generosity was not limited to his professional skill alone, and he frequently gave of his resources to both the seen and unseen.

"The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Jim's sense of duty extended to the very idea of knowledge itself and its inextricable connection to growth. He was a scholar in the purest sense and a life-long lover of intellectual stimulation, especially the written word. He was a voracious reader, especially of history, the biographies of great leaders, and the works of C.S. Lewis. He was frequently inspired by the speakers at the Austin Knife and Fork Club where he was a long time member; and in Shreveport, Jim was an active contributor to the Tarshar Society, giving presentations on illustrious historical figures such as Benjamin Rush and John James Audubon. He talked often of the educators that impacted his life and felt that it was incumbent on him to share his knowledge with others. Professionally, he mentored physicians, spoke often at medical conferences, and authored numerous articles for publications like the New England Journal of Medicine. However, his pedagogy extended far beyond the field of medicine, and he enjoyed teaching everything from Sunday school lessons, to how to write an impactful college essay, to how to refinish an antique chair. His practical upbringing fostered a strong interest beyond the purely cerebral pursuits, and he enjoyed learning and doing hands-on projects from the essentials of home and car maintenance to flower-arranging and hand-crafted carpentry.

"Beauty is as useful as the useful" - Victor Hugo

While Jim heartily embraced the obligations of life, he also keenly understood the need for beauty. It was as important to the soul as the cultivation of knowledge. He once said that he liked to surround himself with beautiful things, and Jim took true delight in antique and art collecting, interior design, and gardening. He loved singing, a good laugh, and a big bowl of ice cream. Jim took a special interest in travel– knowing its power to broaden the mind and spirit–and his journeys took him all over the world. Favorite trips included summers in Ireland, the Amalfi Coast, and retracing the historic Lewis and Clark Expedition route with lifelong friends. Never one to lie on a beach, Jim was ever the culturally-minded traveler and vacations always included trips to museums, gardens, and historical sites.

Inarguably for Jim, the most beautiful thing in his life was Glenda. She fully embodied beauty in mind, body, and spirit; and from the beginning, they were aligned in a sense of duty to their faith and their families. As with any great match, each enhanced the other's individual gifts with truly magical results. His deep love was never more apparent as he dutifully cared for Glenda through her long struggle with Parkinson's disease, even as he fought his own battle with pancreatic cancer.

To those who were fortunate to have known him, Jim leaves behind an indelible legacy of faithful service, wisdom, and benevolent generosity.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Smith Family Chapel on the campus of Riverbend Church in Austin, TX on Saturday, November 15, 2025 beginning with a visitation at 1pm. A memorial service at 2pm will be followed by a reception and inurnment at Remembrance Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made in memory of Dr. James E. Crout to the Mayo Clinic to support the Polley Endowment for Research in Rheumatic Diseases. This endowment was established by Jim in 2021, and contributions can be made by visiting https://give.mayoclinic.org/ or calling 1-855-852-8129.

Local arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Parkcrest in Austin, TX.