Anne Jane Crowell

Anne’s journey as an American began way back in the very early 1900’s when her grandfather and grandmother emigrated from Europe to America. Anne’s grandfather Kazimerz was an Austrian in the army who used train the famous Lipizzaner horses before he emigrated.

Anne’s grandmother Anna lived on the German/Polish border and was obviously a great beauty because she became Miss Germany when she was young – thus explaining the strong line of beauty which has run through all of her female descendants to this day, including Anne.

Perhaps not surprisingly with such a pedigree, when these two met they quickly fell madly in love and so, when they both emigrated to America separately to the west and east coasts, they quickly found a way to reunite and ultimately marry.

Anne was subsequently born to their daughter Emilia in 1934 by which time the family has settled into Enfield, Connecticut. After graduating from the local high school, Anne met and fell for a handsome local boy called Donald McCarroll whom she met at a dance in nearby Windsor Locks. They quickly got married when Anne was only 20 and started a family almost immediately and their first daughter Linda, was born a year later with their second Laurie a year after that. Her son Donald came along five years later, and thus Anne’s immediate family was created which became her absolute focus for the rest of her life.

In many ways, Anne was a tiger mom before the concept was invented. Nothing was more important to Anne than her family and she was there for all three of her children whenever she was needed. She continued this focus on her family when she became a grandmother ultimately to 5 grandchildren, all of whom she adored and they equally adored her. She was in many ways the grandmother from central casting !

Sadly her husband Donald died at the early age of 36 by which time the family had emigrated to California, leaving Anne to bring up her family largely as a single mother. Having moved to Orange in 1965, Anne made it her home for the rest of her life bringing up her family there and making friends everywhere she went. Anne was one of those individuals to whom people naturally gravitated because of the warmth and good humour that she always exuded. One of the best sights was always to see Anne’s face light up whenever she laughed which was often.

In 1991 Anne begin a new chapter in her life when she met and married Benton Crowell who was the second great love of her life. With Ben, Anne inherited two new children Carolyn and Bill whom she quickly took to her heart as her own as they indeed did with her. For the next 14 years that they were married before Ben’s passing, Anne revelled in her newly expanded family as indeed did all of us.

Throughout her life Anne was as much a force of nature as just a regular person. She held the family together with her personality, her love and her character. She always enjoyed travel all over the world, especially to Mexico where she had a house, but she always wanted to come back home where she belonged with her family.

Anne is survived by her three children, Ben’s children and her five immediate grandchildren – Francesca, Matthew, Hayley, Alexandra and Donald together with her twin sisters Marlene and Maureen - all of whom will miss her greatly.