Zorah Elizabeth Krowl

Heaven touched Earth as Zorah Elizabeth Oeth Krowl completed her journey to her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on November 14, 2013, in San Antonio. The sixth of nine children, Zorah was born at home on February 1, 1917, to Clem William and Elsie Elizabeth Stucker Oeth in Mount Vernon, IN. Her parents and siblings, Floyd Powell, Clem Malcolm, Herbert Elwood, Myrle Oscar, Chester Daniel, Clifford Fred, George Jamel, and Lois E. Oeth, preceded her in death.

An amazing woman, Zorah set a worthy example for her family, overcoming many obstacles during her 96 years.

The family moved to Evansville, IN, where Zorah attended Harwood School in Vanderburgh County through the sixth grade. On Sundays, having no car, her brother Clem let his younger sister sit on the cross bar on his bike and hold on to the handlebars as he pedalled to Pilgrim Holiness Church, where Zorah accepted Jesus as her savior. During the Depression, the family struggled financially. Her dad worked as a janitor, yet two of her brothers were able to acquire second-hand cars, learning to repair and reassemble them. To sustain the large family, they moved to St. Joe, buying a farm to grow their own food and living in a log cabin. An excellent farmer, Zorah's dad soon grew sufficient crops to feed them well. Blackberries and dewberries grew wild, and her brothers hunted rabbits and other wild game to supplement their meals. Zorah liked the Abraham Lincoln lifestyle in the log cabin with its wood-burning stove, but snow drifted through cracks between the logs and water had to be carried in buckets from a spring until her dad bought a mule to haul it. Zorah skipped seventh grade and her fervent prayers were answered when she passed the eighth grade, completing her public education in a one-room schoolhouse. To support herself and help her family, she did housework and provided child care. The Oeths moved to Texas in 1935, arriving in San Antonio on her seventeenth birthday. They settled in Schertz. Two of her brothers served in the US Army at Randolph Field, later to become Randolph Air Force Base. Here she met John J. Krowl, an engine mechanic on the flight line, and a friend of her brothers. They were married on February 14, 1936. Their first daughter, Dixie Carol, was born at Fort Sam Houston. John was transferred to March Field, California, where their second daughter, Linda Darlene, was born. They then moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Zorah was expecting their third child when John was sent to the Philippines during World War II with the US Army's 93rd Bomber Squadron. She and the children returned to Schertz with the help of her brother Floyd, who drove the family car because Zorah had yet to learn to drive. The Krowls' son, Ivan Karl, was born at Randolph Field. Captured by the Japanese in the Philippines on May 10, 1942, John was a prisoner of war until September 4, 1945, leaving Zorah alone to care for their three young children. On his return, the family moved to the outskirts of San Antonio in 1947, dealing with the war's emotional impact and other issues until the couple divorced in 1962.

Her nursing career was a highlight of Zorah's life. As a registered nurse and nursing instructor, she directly and indirectly touched the lives of many patients throughout her career. She became a licensed vocational nurse in 1957, worked at Baptist Memorial Hospital on the men's surgical ward, then at the State Hospital where she completed a psychiatric nurse technician program and was certified in 1961. Zorah received financial aid from the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation to become a registered nurse, graduated from the Robert B. Green School of Nursing in 1964, and was certified to teach vocational nursing. She taught LVN students at Fox Tech's School of Nursing. She earned an Associate of Arts degree at San Antonio College in 1967 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology at St. Mary's University in 1975. She retired in 1979 and was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for 16 years of exemplary service. Throughout her life and nursing career, she remained devoted to her family and home. She enjoyed cooking traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas meals with turkey and dressing, yeast rolls, mincemeat cookies, plus cherry pies and apple pies made from scratch, which quickly became family favorites. She avidly collected new recipes and shared them with others. Her gardens bloomed with beautiful roses and attracted butterflies, cardinals, and hummingbirds. A few months before her ninetieth birthday, Zorah moved to Morningside Ministries at Chandler Estate.

Zorah's memory will forever be cherished by her daughters Dixie Wilson and Darlene Kirchner and son-in-law Al and by her son Ivan Krowl and daughter-in-law Sharon of Texas as well as many loving family members. Her grandsons are Ronald and Brian Wilson of Texas and James Kirchner of Georgia. Her granddaughters are Cynthia McCaskey of Pennsylvania and Shari LeClair and Kathy Cain of Texas. Her great-grandchildren are Craig and Scott Wilson, Sara, Evan, and Jenna LeClair, and Huston and Addison Cain, all of Texas; Andrew and Kyrsten Kirchner of Georgia; and Elizabeth McCaskey of Pennsylvania. Nieces are Elsie Center, Myrtle Gold, and Martha Morazzano of Texas; Lavon Spanos of Florida; Norma Jo Metz of Indiana; Emma Jean Jones, Carol Susan McGill, and Georgia Ann Stubbeman of Kansas. Other relatives include a cousin, Marjorie Slygh of Indiana, plus great- and great-great-nieces and -nephews.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Sunset Memorial Park and Funeral Home, 1701 Austin Highway, San Antonio. A service to celebrate Zorah's life and her remarkable achievements will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home chapel, officiated by the Rev. Charles Anderson, pastor at University United Methodist Church. Interment will be at Concrete Cemetery in La Vernia following the service.

Memories and words of comfort may be shared with the family in the online guestbook at www.sunsetfuneralhomesa.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Morningside Covenant Fund at Morningside Ministries Senior Living Community, 700 Babcock Road, San Antonio, TX 78201, telephone 210-734-1000.

The family would like to thank the staff at Metropolitan Methodist Hospital and Morningside Ministries at Chandler Estate for the compassionate care she received.