Donna Margaret Gardner Crenshaw

CRENSHAW, DONNA MARGARET GARDNER, born in Union City, TN on Nov. 30, 1934. She and her family moved to Winter Park in 1961 where she lived for 34 years. After her husband's retirement in 1995, she moved with her husband to Yalaha, FL near Howey-in-the-Hills, where she was a member of Mission Inn Resort and enjoyed golf and other activities there. She passed away on August 4, 2007 after a prolonged illness. She is at peace and her years of suffering are over. A beautiful and very talented lady in many things, she was a professional water skier as well as a photographer's model at Cypress Gardens before her marriage. She loved to explore different rivers and waterways, and would ski for miles behind her boat with family and friends. Always active, she had seemingly unlimited stamina and enthusiasm. An expert equestrian, she bred, raised, and exhibited three-gaited American saddle bred horses on the Florida show circuit, and other areas for many years. She went to numerous guest ranches in the United States every year, rode endurance long range horses on the California coast, and rode cross country around the "Ring of Kerry" in Ireland. Aside from her family and friends, horses and music were her true loves. An accomplished musician, she played trombone, cello in a symphony orchestra, sang and played classical guitar, and was asked to entertain often for friends and for many other events. She played trombone, guitar, and sang for a small group called "The Dixie Doctors and Donna", and traveled with them to entertain several groups, large and small. She also entertained at the Winter Park Art Festival, and was a volunteer for that event. She volunteered as a Grey Lady for Sunland Hospital in Orlando, and loved caring for and entertaining "her children" in residence as she called them. She was a member of the Junior Service League of Orlando and Winter Park, and spent hours in various projects. She traveled to many nursing homes and classrooms and played her guitar and sang for them. She attended Memphis State College (now the University of Memphis) and the University of Miami, where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. She obtained many beauty titles in high school and college, including Miss Reelfoot Lake, a finalist in the Miss Tennessee Pageant, Miss Missouri in the Miss Universe Pageant, one of the finalists on the Orange Bowl Homecoming Court at the University of Miami, Kappa Alpha Rose at Memphis State, and numerous other beauty and popularity honors. She was also a finalist in the Cotton Carnival in Memphis. She loved to travel and visited many countries during her life and lived on the French Riviera at Villefranche with her children while her husband was on a ship in the Mediterranean. While in Europe, she traveled to most countries and enjoyed the beauty of the old country and the artwork. She traveled around the world, and delighted in seeing new customs and cultures. She was an accomplished snow skier and traveled every winter for 30 years with her husband and friends to many different resorts in the western United States, Austria, France and Switzerland. She enjoyed golf and was a former member of the Country Club of Orlando and Interlachen Country Club, and enjoyed spending most summer months in western North Carolina at the family's mountain home where she enjoyed the Wolf Laurel Country Club and cool summers. A true competitor, she enjoyed competing whether it be golf, tennis, exhibiting horses, water skiing, snow skiing, fishing, boating, sailing, scuba diving, swimming with the dolphins, sharp shooting, or any other event. A gourmet cook, her creations were enjoyed by family and friends. She would sit for hours reading cookbooks and collecting new recipes. She was a lover of all animals, and was always surrounded by them. She lived on acreage for many years in Winter Park, and her pets included chickens, horses, goats, pigs, pelicans, squirrels, dogs, cats, lambs, peacocks, raccoons, selective snakes, and many other varities. Any food leftovers were designated for her animal friends. Married to her husband, Dr. Edwin B Crenshaw for over 53 years, she was a loving and caring wife. They were both very devoted to each other and enjoyed traveling and sharing many activities together. She was a devoted and loving mother to four children, Dawn Knox of Nashville, TN, Patrick Crenshaw of Brooksville, FL, Angela Cox of Plantation Key, FL and Julia Crenshaw of Flagler Beach, FL. She has four granddaughters and three grandsons, and one great granddaughter with a great grandson expected very soon. Also, several nieces, nephews, and cousins. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother and a grandson. She truly loved all her family and received comfort and support from all of them during her prolonged illness. She earned the name from her grandchildren as "Big Momma". One of her grandchildren made the statement, "If Big Momma says something, she means it". Her friends knew her as devoted and caring. She grieved over any problems they encountered, as if they were her own. A private Memorial Service for family only is being planned followed later by a Memorial Celebration of her life visitation in late October or early November. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to The American Cancer Society or a charity of your choice. Beyers Funeral Home and Crematory, Leesburg, FL.