Kathryn M. Crawford

Marie Kathryn Crawford (, 91, of Grafton, Ohio passed away in her sleep on March 23rd, 2024, in her residence in Jessup, Maryland. Kathryn or “Kate” as she liked to be called was born to the late Reuben and Mamie Sizemore, on the 20th of November, 1933, in Charleston, West Virginia. After a “wild and wonderful” childhood, Kathryn graduated Clay County High School (National Honors Society) in 1951 and earned her Teaching Certificate at West Virginia’s Glennville University in 1952. How many folks have a mother that taught in a one room schoolhouse? Kathryn did. She started her teaching career at Clay West Virginia’s Brown School and taught children from elementary through high school ages. Commuting to and from work sometimes involved walking on a log that spanned a creek. This may not equal Indiana Jones, however, it was a real life adventure! She married the love of her life, Navy Veteran Dencil Lee Crawford in 1954, left West Virginia and moved to Elyria, Ohio where they raised their son Mitchell and daughter Leah. In 1973 they moved to Grafton, Ohio. When Kathryn and Dencil moved to Ohio, Kathryn continued her teaching career, teaching at Eaton and Brush Elementary Schools. One of these had a Korean War jet fighter on display and her son got to sit on it. It was very hot! Kathryn loved teaching. She continued her education, attending Ohio’s Kent State University in the summers and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 1967. Andrea watched her children while she was at Kent State. There was a teacher’s strike in 1977, however, we believe it all worked out for everyone She finally decided on teaching at Grafton Elementary School where she taught the Second Grade, which has become known as the “last stop” for reading, and this is where she used her insight and motivational skills to ensure every single one of her students could read at least at the level required of the school system. A bit of math shows this to be around a 1,000 students over long her 37 year career. She retired in 1992. Dencil passed away in 2002 and Kathryn continued to live in Grafton until 2021, when she moved to Jessup Maryland to be close to her daughter. She is survived by her loving children, Mitchell (Antoinette) Crawford, Leah (Henri) Larrieu: granddaughter Lauren Crawford and great grandson Jacob Crawford, her wonderful sister Andrea (Ken) Mierop, and her three wonderful brothers Carl (Sandra) Sizemore, Kenneth (Pat) Sizemore and Fred (Sherri) Sizemore (her brother Earl Sizemore passed away in 1970), as well as many nieces; Rachel Dykes, Susannah Ruttles, Carol Sizemore, nephews; Matthew (Allison) Mierop, Aaron Sizemore, and numerous cousins. Kathryn was an amazing woman. Sister, mother, wife and teacher. A true multitasker. Commuting to and from work sometimes involved walking on a log that spanned a creek! Multitasking? While teaching, she was also a wife and mom and a person with personal interests. She loved music of all kinds and sang (Patsy Kline, Johnny Cash Loretta Lynn, Jeannie C Riley) while working through the daily routine of housework. Leah became an accomplished musician, playing a wide variety of instruments. Kathryn loved gardening, flowers and houseplants. While she lived in Elyria, Dencil built her an indoor greenhouse with fluorescent lighting where she grew a variety of houseplants including African Violets. She also grew various tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and corn in her backyard. In Grafton she expanded both quantity and variety by adding strawberries, blackberries, as well as peach, apple and pear trees. Kathryn loved to read, both for learning how to do things and the enjoyment of a good story. She had an extensive library of gardening, cooking diet, health and exercise books as well as an endless collection of novels of all kinds. She enjoyed trying out recipes from the Mediterranean and the Orient. She loved animals and over the years had numerous dogs a (a Pomeranian, two toy Jack Russells and two Pugs) she had a large, loud, very loud, talking parrot, and four or five lovebirds. While in Elyria she had a white long haired Persian kitten that became a large 22 pound cat. They had goats, geese and chickens! She and Dencil liked socializing with our neighbors in Elyria and would on some hot summer nights play card games like “Sixty-Six” and Spades and Bridge (poker was not her forte) in the backyard while we children were in bed. She also liked having the neighborhood children play in the pools she and Dencil put up in the backyard. She enjoyed socializing with her next door neighbors and other friends in Grafton as well. Kathryn had many talents and interests. She liked going shopping for “this that and the other” as she would say, and liked having her children with her when she went. Kathryn developed a penchant for Cabbage Patch Dolls and had quite a collection of them. Kathryn had a sewing machine and liked to make dresses and would embroider designs on jackets and shirts, as well as fabricate an occasional Halloween Costume. She had made some dresses for her daughter and herself as well. Kathryn loved her children and raised them well if we do say so ourselves. She was always interested in their lives and strongly supported them in any way she could. She could hit a baseball well, was a Cub Scout and Brownie Den Mother and a great camper. We went on many family camping trips in Ohio, West Virginia and one to Canada where we caught many large fish and fed the meanest mosquitoes in North America mass quantities of blood. She and Dencil even took cruises to Mexico and in Alaska. Our best family vacations were always those when we visited Reuben and Mamie and her brothers and sister in West Virginia. Sitting in the porch in the evening talking (we younger children mostly listening), sharing wonderful suppers, and sharing the friendship of loved ones. A strong woman, Kathryn helped take care of her father-in-law in some of his later years, as well as her father Reuben, and her husband as he was dying from cancer. Kathryn remained very independent after her beloved husband passed away, and enjoyed the time and assistance she received from her sister Andrea and husband Kenneth Mierop, and their daughter Rachel and son Matthew. Kathryn was 91 when she passed away. She lived a long meaningful life and was greatly loved and greatly missed by all. 

 Services will be held on Wednesday May 2024 at 1:45 pm in the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery  10175 Rawiga Rd. Seville, Ohio.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Kathryn M. Crawford, please visit our floral store.