Mary Jo Crouch

1927 - 2019

CALIFORNIA — Mary Jo (Kimpton) Crouch, died peacefully on Friday, Dec.6, 2019 at age 92 after a short illness at her residence in Morgan Hill, California.

She was born to Addie Eve Kimpton and Samuel Kimpton Aptil 19, 1927 in Mexico, Missouri. She was raised in Columbia, Missouri, by her mother and step father, Marion Elder.

She attended University of Missouri for undergraduate as well as her graduate studies in Social Work.

She married a fellow social worker, Stance Crouch, and moved to the Alton, Illinois, area in 1960.

She worked as a social worker at Alton State Hospital. She became the first social worker for the Alton School District in the early 1970s and continued working as a social worker until her retirement. She was honored as School Social Worker of the Year in Illinois two times for her work including state wide work on changing corporal punishment regulations.

Outside of caring for her family and friends, some of her happiest parts of her life were being a girl scout leader for her two daughters, an avid swimmer, a letter writer, horseback riding, and gardening.

She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Michelle and David Gordon of Morgan Hill, and Melinda and Carl Alston of Wheaton, Illinois; and a grandson, Benjamin Alston of Iowa City, Iowa. She was proceeded in death by her husband, Manuel Stance Crouch; her brother, Robert Kimpton; and her son, David Reynard Crouch.

A memorial will be held in March in the Alton area, and friends and family will be contacted.

Any donations in her memory should be directed to your local animal shelter or ASPCA.