Clarajean 'Jean' Crum

CRUM, Clarajean Jean Laurent
of Kalamazoo, Michigan Died Sunday, September 30, 2012, at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo. She was born on August 14, 1929 in Savanna, Ill., to Margaret Angeline Wilson and Wilfred Theodore Roeder. She is survived by her brother, Robert Roeder, of Hayward, Calif., daughters Anne Laurent Kelly of Silver Spring, Md., Elisabeth Sochacki Mike of Rockford, Mich., and Catherine Schau Jordan of Portage, Mich.; and her grandchildren, Emma and Dana Schau; Andrew, Katherine and Jacqueline Sochacki; and Patrick and Aaryn Zimmerman. Her son Raphael and her husband, Mark L. Crum Jr., preceded her in death. Her marriage to William J. Laurent ended in divorce. She was an elegant artistic, generous, indomitable woman. A hero to her daughters for her inner strength, her joyous heart, her unbounded love, her courage and her perseverance, Jean Crum was an inspiring, generous, warm, fun-loving mother and grandmother. She will be remembered for her ready smile, her love of music and dancing, her leadership, curiosity and impish sense of humor. She worked at Eversharp, Combined Insurance and La Salle Insurance in Chicago, Ill., and at various firms in Kalamazoo, including Bertram Furs, Rare Antiques and a property management company. She studied at the Art Institute in Chicago, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Western Michigan University. From the banners she made for St. Monica's Catholic Church in Kalamazoo, to innumerable flyers and decorations that graced churches, dances, dinners, homecoming floats and celebrations at Kalamazoo Hackett High School and elsewhere, Jean Crum was known for her deeply artistic sensibility. She helped inaugurate the Women's Festival of Kalamazoo. She was a second mother to many of her daughters' classmates at Hackett. She led Girl Scouts, Great Books and Catholic youth groups, and was active in political campaigns and Kalamazoo's sister-city program with Pushkin, Russia. She welcomed exchange students into her home, studied Catholic philosophy and theology and championed women's ordination. With her beloved husband of 23 years, Mark Crum, the former director of the Kalamazoo Public Library for 30 years, she traveled the world, visiting New Zealand, Australia, France, Italy, Russia, Great Britain and Europe and spending a year living in Hawaii while Mark taught at the university. Her greatest love and devotion were reserved for Mark, her daughters and their partners, and her grandchildren, of whom she was uniformly proud. She taught those who loved her to find beauty where it is least expected, to stand up for those less powerful, to believe in themselves and to value others, to treat all people with respect, to care for animals, and that anything worth doing is worth doing right, depending on the time and circumstances. Jean Crum died the night of a full Harvest Moon and sent a bright shooting star across the sky. We should expect more wondrous occurrences and merriment now that her great good spirit has loosed the earthly bonds. We will miss her deeply and look to her for guidance. As she loved angels and trusted them to care for her and her loved ones, now she dances among them and soars above on brilliant wings of her own. A Memorial Mass will be held on Monday, October 8, 2012 at noon at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 936 Lake St. with Msgr. Michael Hazard as celebrant. The family will receive friends at the Langeland Family Funeral Home, Memorial Chapel, 622 Burdick St., on Sunday, October 7, 2012 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m with a Rosary at 7:00. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be given to Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan.