She was born on February 8, 1946 in Ashland, Mississippi to the late Bryant and Ethel Lee (Starks) Elliott, Sr.
She married Elijah Crutcher in 1980. They were married for 29 years until his passing on November 4, 2009.
Emma Jean accepted Christ at an early age as her Lord and Savior and she was filled with precious fire and the Holy Ghost. She made sure the joy within her touched the lives of everyone she met by giving food, shelter, transportation, clothing, or whatever their needs were. She did her best to help.
She was a member of Grace Missionary Baptist Church and was a former member of the Senior Choir and church decoration committee. She was a foster parent and adoptive parent for the State of Illinois for many years.
She graduated Line Consolidated High School in Ripley, MS and attended Mississippi Valley State College. After relocating to Peoria, she attended Illinois Central College.
Emma Jean was a teacher at Peoria Head Start and worked for many years for PARC as a Resident Service Aid. She was last employed at the Community Workshop Training Center as a Program Tech before retiring.
Emma Jean is survived by her children, Rodney (Julia) Gray, Ursula Gray, Nicholas (Stevi) Crutcher, and Taffyell (Michael) Ellis; her grandchildren, Ryan Lee, Alyscia Dillard-Gray, Kemet Crutcher, Phaith Crutcher, Zion Crutcher, Imani Crutcher, Mykel Ellis, DJ Porter, Jaiden Ellis, Michaela Gray, James Gray, Lonnie Doss, Minnie Gray, Marcus Doss, Tywan Gray, and Mianna Gray; and a host of great grandchildren.
She is preceded by her parents; her first husband, James L. Gray; her husband, Elijah Crutcher; her son, Michael Gray; and 8 siblings.
A Funeral Service in honor of Emma Jean will be held on Friday, October 2, 2026 at 11:00 am at Grace Baptist Church in Peoria, IL with a Visitation one hour prior. Committal will take place directly after services at Parkview Cemetery.
Memorial contributions can be made to Grace Baptist Church.
Memories and condolences can be shared at Davison-Fulton.com.
