Peter Linton Crawley

Peter Linton Crawley, age 88, passed away on September 16, 2024, surrounded by those he loved. He was born in Pasadena, California, January 29, 1936, to Helene Ottinger Crawley and Emerson Linton Crawley. He met Donna Louise Foss ––the love of his life––in tenth grade Spanish class, and they were married in the Los Angeles LDS Temple on September 5, 1956. He graduated from the California Institute of Technology with bachelor's and doctoral degrees in mathematics and taught on the Caltech math faculty for nine years before coming to Brigham Young University in 1971. He served as Mathematics Department chair for twelve years, 1977–89 and continued teaching at BYU until he retired in 1998.
For 45 years, the family lived across the street from the Provo Temple. Six children grew up in that home: Gaye Louise, John Linton, Anne Helene, Carolyn Elizabeth, Matthew Foss, and Rachel Ellen. Donna's death on December 30, 2018, precipitated a move to a smaller home.
Throughout his life, Peter was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many capacities in the wards and stakes––including twice as a bishop. He was also a lifelong collector of early Mormon books.
He and Donna served twice as Church Service Missionaries, the second time at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City. After Donna's death, Peter continued his service there, for a total of thirteen years.
Peter is survived by his six children, Gaye Ray (Larry), Provo, Utah; John (Nancy), Gilbert, Arizona; Anne Crosland (Richard), Provo; Carolyn Robison (Jon), Midway, Utah; Matthew, Tooele, Utah; and Rachel Smith, Highland, Utah; twenty grandchildren, and twenty-two great-grandchildren.
Memorial and burial services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Utah County Children's Justice Center where Donna served as the founding clinical coordinator. https://www.utahcounty.gov/Dept/cjc/donate.asp