Elisabeth Stripling Crawford

1916 -2016

Some who leave us are deserving of not only fond recollections but for recognition for singular achievements beyond the normal course of life’s events. Elisabeth Stripling Crawford was one of these. She passed away peacefully at her home in Houston, Texas on Friday March 11 surrounded by immediate family members.

Dr. Crawford was preceded in death by her loving husband Walter Jack Crawford and her siblings M.M. Stripling, William Benjamin Stripling, Sam B. Stripling, Jr., and Jane Young, all of Nacogdoches, Texas. She is survived by her daughter Nancy McEwen and her husband Jim McEwen of Shady Grove, Tennessee, her son Sam Stripling Crawford and wife Linda S. Maxwell of Bellaire, Texas, her three grandsons Jack Crawford Hatley of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jesse Maxwell Crawford of Silver Spring, Maryland, and Gared Maxwell Crawford of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and her great granddaughter Emilia Abigail Crawford of Silver Spring, Maryland. She is also survived by nephews Craig Stripling and John Young of Nacogdoches, and Bill Stripling of Vicksburg, Mississippi, as well as nieces Mary Duncan of Lufkin, Texas, and Josephine (Jody) McLean and Lynda Pool of Nacogdoches.

Elisabeth was the youngest of the children of Sam Black Stripling and Elizabeth Wright Stripling, born in Nacogdoches, Texas on June 25, 1916. She was raised in the Stripling residence in the 800 block of North Street, a distinctive wood framed Victorian style house built in 1882, along with her brothers and sisters as well as resident aunts. Elisabeth’s mother died as a result of the flu pandemic of 1917 -1918 when Elisabeth was very young. Her father subsequently married Josephine Wright, her mother’s sister, who efficiently and lovingly stepped in to raise all the children and manage the large household as if they were all her own while Sam Senior pursued his various business interests including the Stripling Haselwood pharmacy in downtown Nacogdoches.

Being the youngest, Elisabeth was the beneficiary of limited oversight and restrictions but was very intelligent and determined nonetheless. She graduated from Nacogdoches High School and attended Stephen F. Austin College and the University of Texas at Austin. On somewhat of a whim, and at the urging of a classmate, she took the entrance examination for medical school and scored exceptionally high. She was subsequently admitted to the University of Texas medical branch in Galveston. Her father was not encouraging about her going away to medical school and for a while refused to send her clothes there. But he finally recognized her determination to excel and provided for her accordingly. Elisabeth and several other women students, all virtual female pioneers in medicine, were among the graduating class of 1939. She never sought any special consideration for being a woman in a largely male professional field, but she was always supported and encouraged by her male colleagues.

Elisabeth was the first woman to be offered an internship at Jefferson Davis Hospital in Houston and began her work there in July 1939. That same summer Jack Crawford contacted her in Houston and they began their life relationship and subsequent marriage. Although they were friends during school and grew up virtually next door to each other, they had never dated before. Jack asked her to marry him on July 4, 1940 and they were married on June 7, 1941 in the Westminster Presbyterian Church on North Street in Nacogdoches with Jack’s father A.J. Crawford presided as minister. Elisabeth’s brother Mack served as a groomsman for the wedding. Following the wedding they took a rewarding and ambitious honeymoon to Mexico, driving the entire way and visiting Cuernevaca, Tasco and Mexico City. They returned in time for Elisabeth to begin her residency in ophthalmology at Jefferson Davis in July 1941.

Upon completing her residency at Jefferson Davis in June of 1942, she accepted a position in the Ophthalmology Department at UT Galveston but commuting from Houston was difficult and she soon secured a job with Dr. Everett Goar, an excellent and well known ophthalmologist in Houston. She assisted him in his surgeries and he individually tutored her during lunch breaks every day. After two years of collaboration with Dr. Goar she took and passed the board examinations for ophthalmology. After a short partnership with Dr. Norma Ellis, Elisabeth went into private practice at a combination residence and office at 610 Gray Street in Houston.

Her daughter Nancy was born on August 6, 1946 but Elisabeth was back to her full work schedule within a week after the birth. In 1947 she moved her office to the Hermann Professional Building in the Houston medical center. She performed many eye surgeries at nearby Hermann Hospital. In 1949 their son Sam was born. She was one of the founding partners at Park Plaza Hospital in Houston. In 1967 Elisabeth had designed and constructed a new residence and office at 12 Oakdale and lived and practiced there until 1988. Elisabeth was always caring and attentive with her patients as they attested so frequently. She always loved children and devoted the later years of her practice to the treatment of childhood eye conditions and surgery.

Elisabeth developed a love for antiques at an early stage in her adult life and enjoyed collecting numerous, and some notable, pieces in her lifetime. Jack and Elisabeth loved traveling and during the course of their marriage visited many foreign destinations including Spain, Portugal, England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Mexico, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Soviet Union. She took some of the trips on her own, especially to Hong Kong to have custom clothing made for her. She also took great joy in raising and tending her roses, especially pink varieties.

She will always be remembered by family members and friends for her determination and strong character. The family would like to extend special thanks to LaDonna Williams and her Dream Care staff who provided such attentive care over the last few years, and to Hospice Compassus for their focused and professional assistance during the last few days of her life.

A graveside service will be held in Nacogdoches. In lieu of flowers, anyone interested please donate to Shriners Hospitals for Children.