MS CRAWLEY, KATHARINE E. to TAPs

Following is from an email from Kitty's children:

Dear Rafino,

We are sorry to tell you that our mother, Katharine Ely Crawley, died on
June 12, 2012, the day after her 90th birthday.  Kitty suffered for a number
of years with Alzheimer's disease, but always kept her good humor along the
journey.  We had a lovely visit with her to celebrate her birthday, and she
seemed ready to leave us.  Kitty passed peacefully in the early hours of
June 12th.  She will be missed!
 
On Saturday, June 16th, our family gathered to commemorate her passing and
to celebrate her long life. We remembered Kitty as a superb hostess, a
generous and loving mother and grandmother, and as a welcoming friend to all
who came her way.  Her sister, Peg, called her, "Katy of the Loving Heart!"
 
We knew you would want to be aware of this news. Please do not be saddened
by her passing, as she lived a wonderful and full life.  Below is a memorial
tribute to Kitty.

Sincerely,

John (son) and Tracey Crawley
     Newport News, Virginia

&

Mary Crawley (daughter)
Marathon, Florida

----------------------------------------------------------

Katharine Ely Crawley died on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Born in Altoona,
Pennsylvania on June 11, 1922, she was the daughter of Harry L. Champlain
and Mary M. (Lotz) Champlain. Known as "Katy" in her early years, she grew
up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and graduated from Broad Ripple High School in
June, 1940.  Next, she attended the Mount Vernon College for Women in
Washington DC, and worked at the College as a secretary after graduation
until accepting a position as a stenographer at the FBI in Washington D.C.
There, she took depositions from detainees, to including a captured Nazi
spy. Shortly after her father's death in 1943, she lost her brother, Lt
Harry L. Champlain Jr. (U.S. Navy) on the USS Brownson, a destroyer in the
Pacific. This was a hard time for the family.  After WWII, "Katy" accepted a
position with the United States Foreign Service and was posted to American
Embassies in Caracas, Venezuela and Athens, Greece. In Athens, she met Major
John L. Crawley Jr. (U.S. Army). Major Crawley was on assignment with the
Joint U.S. Military Mission to Greece. They were married on March 17, 1951
in Athens. It was in Greece where "Katy" became known as "Kitty" as she
departed Government service to begin life as a military spouse that included
relocations to Kansas, Virginia, Hawaii, and Washington D.C. In 1966,
Colonel John Crawley retired from the Army, and the couple settled in
Hampton, Virginia. Kitty continued to serve the community in the 60's and
70's as an elementary-level  teacher at the Mary Atkins Christian Day
School, now part of the Hampton Christian Schools, and as a volunteer in the
80's and 90's at the Langley Air Force Base hospital.  Katharine Crawley is
survived by her sister, M. Margaret (Peg) Champlain of Newport News; a
daughter, Mary M. Crawley and Douglas DiStasio of Marathon, Florida; a son,
John L. Crawley III and his wife, Tracey Ritchie Crawley, of Newport News;
and two grandchildren, John L. Crawley IV of Hampton, and Danielle J.
Crawley of Knoxville, Tennessee.  Kitty will be missed!