Coleen Shirley Crowell, of Napoleon, passed away peacefully at her home on December 15, 2017 with her family by her side. Shirley was born in Shingle Branch, Kentucky (Knott County) on January 4, 1941, the daughter of the late Arthur and Rachel (White) Collins. She moved to the Batesville area at the age of four.
Shirley attended the Batesville school system for 11 years and moved to Napoleon for her senior year and graduated from Napoleon High School in 1959. She met her husband Gene in her senior year of high school. Gene still refers to her as the prettiest girl in their class.
She married Gene Crowell at St. John’s Lutheran Church on April 23, 1960 and her husband of 57 years still survives at home. They were blessed with three children; Tony, Tami and Tricia.
Shirley was a homemaker and an excellent cook and thoroughly enjoyed her family. Her grandchildren were her pride and joy! Her heart was always full of love with an ear ready to listen and a hand willing to help others. She was a giving person who always put the needs of others before her own. She loved Christmas time, always making a big deal out of it for her family, from decorating, cooking and buying many presents. Perhaps it is only fitting that she received her greatest gift of all at this time of the year….Being in Heaven with her Lord! She was a lifelong member of St. John’s Lutheran Church.
Along with Gene, those surviving who will cherish Shirley’s memory include her daughter, Tami Burress and her husband Don of Madison, Indiana; and daughter, Tricia O’Donovan and her husband Ryan of Cambridge, Minnesota; four grandchildren, Adam (Kasey) Burress, Derek (Andrea) Burress, Ashley (Shawn) Karle, Erica (Luke) Baumgartner, Rachel and Will O’Donovan, four great grandchildren, Karly and Sophie Burress, Jackson Karle, Chase Baumgartner and one brother, Algar Collins of Delaware, Indiana and many nieces, nephews and friends. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her son, Tony Crowell on April 27, 2001; three brothers, Elwood, Clarence and Mark Collins.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, December 17, 2017 from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm at Neal’s Funeral Home. The funeral will be Monday, December 18, 2017 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Napoleon. She will lie in state at the church from 10:30 am until the funeral at 11:00 am. Burial will follow at the church cemetery in Napoleon. The family has requested that memorials go to Our Hospice of South Central Indiana in care of the funeral home.
Services entrusted to Neal’s Funeral Home.
www.nealsfuneral home.net
There’s still time to send flowers to the Visitation at the Neal’s Funeral Home from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM on December 17, 2017.