Continuing her life-long trust in God, on June 1, 2014, Lucille Theresa Schaeffer Crow, loving wife, mother and grandmother, departed for heaven from St Joseph’s Home & Rehabilitation Center. Lucille was 90 years old.
Lucille was born in Kenosha on January 12, 1924. She was the oldest daughter of the late George A. and Lucille M. (Gregorski) Schaeffer.
Lucille attended the former St Casimir’s Catholic Parish School through the eighth grade, followed by a year at Washington Junior High School before graduating from Mary D Bradford High School in 1942. After World War II, she attended Dominican College in Racine and the Wisconsin College of Music in Milwaukee.
Music was a focal point in Lucille’s life as she pursued a career in opera, studying in Milwaukee, Chicago and New York City. As a performer, she was the lead in Madame Butterfly in Milwaukee and according to the Milwaukee Journal’s critic, “was an appealing Countess” in The Marriage of Figaro (October 1952). She performed several other operas in the Milwaukee area before and after moving to New York City to study opera from 1951 to 1959.
Lucille served in the Army Air Forces from April 1943 until September 1945 as a “Women’s Aircraft Instruments Technician.” She studied, troubleshot and repaired critical aircraft components such as the Norden Bombsight at the Warner Robins Air Technical Services Command near Macon, Georgia.
While pursuing her musical career, Lucille worked in many positions to support herself, from the Kenosha County Courthouse to the Department of the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. While in New York City, the first time, she worked as a fashion model. Upon her return to NYC in 1955, she was a clerk typist for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and later, she was a Branch Supervisor from the Inspector of Naval Material before returning to Kenosha in 1959 to once again work at Great Lakes when she then chose a different path.
On November 5, 1960, she married George Crow at Queen of Heaven Church, in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her sister, Dee, serving as her Matron of Honor. The couple honeymooned by driving and touring Mexico.
Lucille soon found herself raising two sons but her connection to music continued as a supporter of the arts serving in various ways as a member of the Kenosha Symphony League, Schubert Club, the Community Concerts organization and as a member of Delta Omicron, an international music fraternity.
History was also important to Lucille and she was an active member of the Kenosha Historical and the Genealogical Societies.
In addition, she also frequently served as a volunteer in the schools, as a band chaperone, as a District Commissioner in Cub Scouting, the University of Wisconsin Extension Homemakers, the Women’s Club and she was an active member of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary and St Mark the Evangelist parishes before becoming a member of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church.
Lucille and George renewed their wedding vows with Father Roman at St Elizabeth Catholic Church, celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2010.
After marriage, she rarely performed, but one could certainly note her professionally trained voice at mass. In 1994, she travelled to Rome with the combined choirs of Holy Rosary & St Mark’s highlighted by a performance at the Vatican.
Lucille is survived by her husband, George; two sons, William Crow and John (Gwynn) Crow; three grandchildren, Michael Crow, Catherine Crow and Thomas Crow; and her nieces and nephews, Debora (Heinz) Limmer, David (Sarina) Ianni, Dean (Sue) Ianni and Denise (Paul) Ianni-Kett.
In addition to her parents, Lucille was preceded in death by her sister, Dolores (Dino) Ianni.
The Crow family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Suzanne Mattox, everyone at Hospice Alliance, and most especially, the entire staff of St. Joseph’s Home.
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