John Franklin Crowe age 88 died peacefully in his home on the farm in Madison County
Missouri on January 19, 2013. John was born on a farm near Alton Illinois on October 26,
1924. His parents were John Patrick Crowe and Lora Alberta
(Deloney) Crowe. John had a
brother Pat Crowe who proceeded him in death and a sister who survives Rose (Crowe) Johnson who resides in Fredericktown Mo. On August 10th, 1947 John married Margaret Chervenko. They had five
children together and resided on their farm in Coldwater Missouri. On October 22nd, 1960 his wife
Margaret and two children Martha Ann and Mary Margaret were killed in an automobile accident. His surviving children are Kathleen (Crowe) Sicking and Huband Dave of Cleveland Ohio, John Partick Crowe the 2nd of Bollinger County Missouri and Stephen Louis Crowe and wife Marie of Madison County Missouri. On January 26th 1963, John married Agnes (Dollinger)Starkey. At the time of marriage Agnes had three grown children; Denise (Starkey) Muskopf,
Beverly (Starkey) Smith, and Annie (Starkey) Neiner. Agnes proceeded John in death on
January 20th , 2005. John is also survived by twenty-one (21) grandchildren, thirty-three (33) great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. John was a member of, and attended St. Michaels Catholic Church in Fredericktown. John was a boiler maker before entering the Navy in 1943. John was a Navy SeaBee in World War 2 with the 119th Navy construction battalion. He helped in the building of the seventh fleet base headquarters in New Guinea. He also served in New
Calednonia and Luzon in the Philippines. He did everything from building roads, hospitals,
airfields; loading and unloading ships, docking facilities and protecting construction sites from
the enemy. John was discharged from the service in 1946. John worked as a maintainence
foreman for the National Lead Company in Fredericktown until the faciltiy was closed. He then
went back to work as a boiler maker for Boiler Makers Union Local 27 until he retired. John
was heavily and actively involved with many organizations and was an officer and life member
of many. Which included the American Legion, VFW, 40 and 8, AMVETS, Disabeled American
Veterans, Navy SeaBee Veterans of America, Missouri Navy Club, International Association of
Turtles, Modern Day Vets, and Fraternal order of Eagles to name a few. John was instrumental in
implementing the finger printing program of school children in Madison County Missouri and
finger printed the children of parents that he had finger printed years before. He was also
passionate about the Voice of Democracy program and the JROTC in the school. He also helped
many people with the nurses training program. John loved being with his family being involved with veterans organizations, cutting firewood, working in his son Steve and daughter Marie's (he refused to call her daughter-in-law) candle business, working on the farm, and green house raising vegetables. He loved socializing with his friends over a cold beer and helping others. He
saw the good in everyone and brought that quality out in all of them. He was born to serve God,
country, family and friends and did so without equal until the day he died. He always upheld the
SeaBee motto " CAN DO " . He lived life to the fullest and never wasted a day doing just that.

Visitation; 5:00 P.M. Friday, January 25, 2013 at the Follis and Sons Funeral Home

Mass of Resurrection; 10:00 A.M. Saturday, January 26, 2013 at the St. Michaels Catholic Church

Interment; St. Michaels Cemetery

Officiating; Fr. Mitchell Wilk