Peter Crow Obituary
1942 – 2025
Peter Glenn Crow passed away peacefully on July 30, 2025, at UNC Rex Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, surrounded by his beloved family. He was 82 years old. Pete had battled several health issues in recent years, and in the last month, doctors believed he had developed Multiple Myeloma.
Pete was born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC, by his parents Edward Wilson Crow, Jr. and Forrest Rose Hastings Crow, alongside his older brother Edward Wilson Crow, III. He attended Summit School through the 8th grade and graduated from Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Virginia. Pete earned his undergraduate degree from Davidson College, a Master's degree from Florida State University, and a PhD from Duke University.
Pete dedicated his professional life to education. After teaching for one year at Stratford College in Danville, VA, he spent 35 years on the faculty of Ferrum College in Ferrum, Virginia. At Ferrum, he made numerous contributions, including serving as chair of the Language, Literature, Philosophy, and Religion Department. One of his lasting legacies was helping to develop the Appalachian Cluster program in 1999, an interdisciplinary course that remains a unique and valued part of Ferrum's curriculum.
Beyond the classroom, Pete was active in his community and in his children's lives. He coached his son Rob's soccer team. He also was a gifted writer. His book Do, Die or Get Along explores life in Appalachian coal towns, and his upcoming novel Staying Alive in Bear Country, scheduled for release in July 2026, draws from a lifetime of stories, hiking trips, and family adventures.
Pete was an avid outdoorsman who believed in leaving every place better than he found it. He loved hiking and canoeing and was an early advocate for conservation. In 1974, as a member of the Sierra Club, he helped stop the construction of a dam on Virginia's New River, later leading canoe trips down its preserved waters.
In retirement, Pete remained a lifelong learner. He took up learning Spanish. When asked why, he told Rob "I hate crosswords, but want to keep my mind fresh." He tutored elementary school students in Raleigh and worked with the Episcopal Honduras Health Mission, where he formed deep friendships and made a lasting impact. He was also active in Better Angels, a movement committed to civil discourse and political bridge-building.
Pete's curiosity took him around the globe. He traveled to Europe after college, roamed through four continents, and helped lead youth mission trips in Kenya with his wife, Beth. He formed a special bond with a young boy named Samuel at an orphanage near Nairobi-a friendship that inspired a heartfelt poem.
At home, Pete instilled his passion for learning and adventure in his family. Each summer, the Crows would embark on new adventures-hiking the Grand Canyon, navigating the French rail system, and unconvincingly advocating for his children to follow him through a graveyard in New England to see Ralph Waldo Emerson's grave.
Pete shared a deep love for Duke basketball and St. Louis Cardinals baseball with his daughter, Amy. He was a dedicated member of both Saint Peter's Episcopal Church in Callaway, Virginia, and Church of the Nativity in Raleigh, North Carolina serving in various leadership and outreach roles.
Pete is survived by his loving wife, Mary Elisabeth (Beth) Crow; daughter, Amy Elisabeth Crow; son, Robert Glenn Crow; daughter-in-law, Jennifer Lynn Crow; brother, Edward Wilson Crow; sister-in-law, Anne Stone Crow; and two cherished grandchildren, Harper Lynn Crow and Harrison Edward Crow.
A Service to Celebrate Pete's Life
will be held on August 10, 2025, at 4:00 PM
at the Church of the Nativity Episcopal Church
8849 Ray Rd, Raleigh, NC 27613
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Church of the Nativity's Outreach Ministries. Contributions can be made online at:
https://nativityonline.org/online-donations/
We invite you to share your memories and stories of Pete as we celebrate a life well-lived-full of kindness, curiosity, and unwavering commitment to the people and places he loved.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Ronald Singleton
September 13, 2025
I add to many others my condolences to Beth and Pete´s entire family on the passing of an extraordinary individual who led an exemplary life and was an inspiration to so many. One need only read the tributes on this page to see how many lives Pete touched, and how he inspired others. Pete loved being with people and he enjoyed life to the fullest, and he especially enjoyed being at Ferrum College in its Appalachian environs, surrounded by nature and the mountains, in his role as a teacher. There was never a better fit of place, individual and talent.
My wife, Judy, (Ferrum `76) and I were next door neighbors (in our on-campus housing near the President´s House) to Pete and Beth in the mid-1970s, relatively soon after they both arrived on campus. We have treasured pictures of hikes we took together with Pete to the top of Tinker Mountain and Sharp Top at Peaks of Otter, and other mountains. We shared with him a lifelong love of hiking and the outdoors.
Pete was one of those special individuals who helped to make Ferrum College what it is today-a place where decorum and grace permeate, and where there´s a genuine love of people who are celebrated and appreciated for the individual skills and talents that they bring to a learning environment that is unique in higher education, and where the motto "Not Self, But Others" resonates and is more than merely words on a page. Pete will be missed, but his legacy on campus remains undiminished.
Ronald Singleton `70
Fredericksburg, VA
Daniel Will
August 19, 2025
My humble condolences to the entire Crow family. May his soul rest in perfect peace.
Tina Hanlon
August 11, 2025
I want to share this message from an alumna who is a lovely person and wrote a comment on the Appalachian Cluster Facebook page. She worked at the college for a while after graduating and went with me to the Appalachian College Association Summit to discuss programs that involve teaching about Appalachia in our classes, including the Appalachian Cluster. Maggie went to college long after Pete retired, but she is in the photos I shared of the time he met the cluster at St. Paul during our field trip. From Maggie Oakes-Chitwood Holder: "Deepest condolences to his friends and family. People who have a the biggest impact are the hardest to see go. They carry the load of life and the work of bettering the world around us in a way that feels irreplaceable. I feel much gratitude for his part in creating the Appalachian Cluster, because it was so impactful to my life and gave me direction. May his loved ones find peace and comfort in seeing the fruits of his labor and in memories of him. "
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Thomas
August 10, 2025
Prayers to the family Was a great professor who i had in 1977 at Ferrum
Tom Hening
WARD
August 9, 2025
I am truly sorry to hear of your loss. Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Sincerely, Andy Ward.
Susan Mogwera
August 9, 2025
Uncle Pete and Aunty Beth with the Lift Every Voice Youth Team farewell dinner at Prof James Amanze's house. 1) Hugs from Bokamoso, 2) Hugs from Busi, 3) The crew - Fr Jooste Motshwane, Bokamoso, Tlotlo, Papi, Gorata (?), Busi, Vickie Masenya, Pete, Fr James Amanze, and Beth. 4) & 5) the special gifts for Beth and Pete from their "kids". (September 2015) We loved sharing with Beth and Pete and for the terrific opportunities they afforded our youth, the leadership development, project support and us as the Link Committee in Botswana.
Indeed we celebrate a life fully lived in service to others and for God.
Rest in eternal peace, Pete Crow. You ran your race and have earned a crown of righteousness.
Love,
Susan Mogwera
Tina Hanlon
August 8, 2025
A few photos from Pete's work at Ferrum College across the decades, including a distinguished teaching award in 1997, and a post-retirement visit with the Appalachian Cluster program that he had founded, when he met us in St. Paul, VA and we posed in the traditional field trip spot at the Clinch River. Maybe the photo of Pete listening to students talk, 9 years after he retired, is the most significant. Pete obviously didn't help edit that yearbook from the 1970s, with no capital letters in the captions.
Ken Krummenacker
August 8, 2025
Honored that I got to meet Pete, play trivia with him, watch football with him, and celebrate the Christmas season with him. I echo another post about him being kind and wise. Indubitably, Pete left this world better than he found it. My deepest condolences to your family. I hope you can all find peace in him being at peace.
Tina Hanlon
August 8, 2025
Pete Crow talking to Appalachian Cluster students from Ferrum College when he met us in 2017, after his retirement, in St. Paul, VA, where he had done so much community service and research and teaching. I think this is a typical Pete gesture.
Tina Hanlon
August 8, 2025
Pete Crow receiving Ferrum College´s Exemplary Teacher Award for 1997-98
Leslie Garvin
August 4, 2025
My deepest condolences to the family. Pete was a wonderful man. We worked together on several initiatives related to the Braver Angels Alliance of Central NC. This included facilitating several trainings together for campus administrators and students using the "Braver Discussions" dialogue model, which he created to promote political depolarization, especially among college students. We will continue to extend his legacy and spread this model throughout the state through the students who participate in our NC Student Dialogue Ambassadors Program. I am so grateful for his dedication to bridging across differences and for the kindness and patience he showed me. This is the video featuring Pete that we show to introduce the model: https://youtu.be/o-e69e0AScw?si=GWL6iy84IRb9Y6wV
Joaquin Lopez and family
August 3, 2025
Our deepest condolences on the loss of your father we are so sorry for your loss and our hearts go out to you and your family during this difficult time.
Jane Stogner
August 3, 2025
Oh, What a great man and a wonderful friend to so many people. His legacy is a blessing .
Mike and Jean Payst
August 3, 2025
Pete was a good friend and neighbor and will miss him. May he rest in peace with Maggie at his side.
Carolyn Furrow
August 2, 2025
Dr. Crow was an amazing and inspiring professor. He made one love the subject and understand its' intricacies.
Michael Bentley
August 2, 2025
I met Pete and Beth during my wife's interim time as the Episcopal priest at St Peter's Calloway in the late 1990s. We hit it off with many mutual interests and political opinions -- and we were both academics. I am saddened by Pete's passing. May he rest in peace.
Gary Evans
August 1, 2025
I was a teaching colleague of Pete's for many years. A dearer, wiser man never lived. I am very sad to learn of his passing.
Amanda Tipton
August 1, 2025
Dr. Crow and his Appalachian cluster creation at Ferrum College had an incredible influence on me- allowing me to fully embrace my identity as an Appalachian. I am
greatly indebted to his dedication to his students, his humor, and his ability to take ideas and make something real out of them. Rest easy, Dr. Crow.
Mary Crocker King
August 1, 2025
I was blessed to have Pete marry my sister and be the most wonderful husband to her and the best father to my dear niece and nephew. He was always there for me and was a loving Uncle to my children. He was truly the most patient and kindest man I have ever known. May I and all of us strive to live our lives with the same kindness, patience, and love.
Rita Kauffman
August 1, 2025
Although I only met Pete twice at reunions, I was thankful that my childhood friend Beth had married a dear man of faith, and seemed so happy. After reading the obit and beautiful tribute to a fine husband, father, and grandfather, I am appreciative of the man he was with so many accomplishments and in leadership, ministering to so many. Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife, children, and grandchildren, as well as other family members. May his legacy live on through his loved ones and those who knew him.
Rita Colley Kauffman
Mike McColl
August 1, 2025
Dr. Crow was an all-time favorite professor and friend. His Faulkner seminar class at Ferrum was one of my favorite courses as an English major there. I did a few canoeing adventures with him. We played ping pong and enjoyed beers together on a few memorable occasions. He will be missed.
Doug James
August 1, 2025
As a friend from Braver Angels, I will most remember Pete's generosity and humility. He quietly met with me privately over many hours to help me with depolarization work that nobody else ever knew about. His gifts were clear to me early. But his many substantial accomplishments and contributions to the world? Those I came to see slowly -- organically -- because he wasn't one to speak of himself.
Marcia Perry
August 1, 2025
I am so sorry to hear of Pete´s passing. May his memory be a blessing to all who knew and loved him and may light perpetual shine on him.
Mary McKee (and Enrique and Isabel)
August 1, 2025
This is a beautiful tribute to a wonderful man we were lucky to work with and learn from at health missions years ago. You have all been in our prayers, and I hope that it brings some peace to know what a full and rich life Pete lived. Please accept our condolences at this difficult time.
Stan Levine
August 1, 2025
Dear Crow Family,
It was with profound sadness that I learned of Pete's passing. Having had the privilege of volunteering alongside him for several years with the Braver Angels Alliance of Central North Carolina, I came to know Pete as a person of remarkable dedication, warmth, and integrity. His commitment to fostering understanding and depolarizing our community was truly inspiring, and his presence brought a sense of unity and purpose to our shared work.
Pete's ability to listen with empathy and engage with respect, regardless of differing perspectives, left an indelible mark on those around him. His contributions to Braver Angels were not just impactful but deeply meaningful, reflecting his unwavering belief in the power of dialogue to bridge divides. Beyond his work, Pete's kindness and genuine care for others shone through in every interaction, making him a cherished colleague and friend.
My heart goes out to you during this time of loss. Please know that Pete's legacy of compassion and service will continue to resonate within our community and beyond. May his memory be a blessing, and may you find comfort in the love and admiration so many hold for him.
With deepest sympathies,
Stan Levine
Mike Ferguson
August 1, 2025
Beth, I am saddened to hear of Pete's passing. He such an amazing man that loved and appreciated people. His last visit to Ferrum College was a day of joy as he needed a special dietary request and since it wasn't available, he said not to worry about it. I am so thankful that I was able to get with the chef to find something that he could eat and to hear him say I knew you would find a way. My heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to you and your family
Ingrid
August 1, 2025
Peter you always are going to be an example to follow because you inspire me. You volunteer at El Buen Pastor teaching English to a group of Latinos.
Ingrid Nunez
Lynn Tesh
August 1, 2025
My experience of Pete was short in time but large in impact. We met in el Corpus and spent many hours together there over several years. I cherish the time we had together. May his memory be a blessing to us all.
Carolyn Brown
August 1, 2025
Such a truly remarkable man, there are no words to convey the depth of the loss to your family. Pete will be missed by the community and I am delighted to hear his legacy will continue with his forthcoming book. Please know you are all in my thoughts and may you receive the comfort of knowing he is at peace.
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