Saralee M. Crowe

From the 1920 federal census, Saralee M. Zumwalt lived with her mother and father at Tulare Township, Tulare County, California. The family at the time consisted of:

• Head Elmo R Zumwalt 27
• Wife Frances P Zumwalt 26
• Daughter Saralee M Zumwalt 10 months

From the 1930 federal census, Saralee Zumwalt lived at Tulare Township, Tulare County, California, with her mother, father, and brothers. The family at the time consisted of:

• Head Elmo R Zumwalt 38
• Wife Frances P Zumwalt 37
• Daughter Saralee Zumwalt 11
• Son Elmo R Zumwalt, Jr. 9
• Son Bruce C Zumwalt 7

Obituary for Saralee M. (Zumwalt) Crowe:

Saralee Zumwalt Crowe passed away on March 4, 2004, from a stroke suffered in mid-February. A memorial service will be celebrated in Fresno on Monday, April 19, 2004, at the San Joaquin Gardens Retirement Community, (5555 N. Fresno St., Fresno, CA 93710, (559) 439-4770), in its Fellowship Hall at 10:30 a.m. If one wishes to make a donation in the memory of Saralee, the following are suggested: Dos Palos Hospital, Assistance League, P.O. Box 123, Dos Palos, CA 92620; or the San Joaquin Gardens Endowment Fund (address above).
Saralee was preceded in death by her husband, Richard ("Dick") Crowe in April 2003. Dick and Saralee moved to San Joaquin Gardens in 1999. Between their marriage in 1940 and their Fresno move, they resided in Dos Palos and Bakersfield. During the War, Saralee served as a nurse's aide in the Dos Palos Hospital. From 1951 until 1966, she taught reading and mathematics at the Dos Palos Junior High School. During this time, Dick managed the Dos Palos Telephone Company. Following her retirement, they lived in Bakersfield, where Dick served as a vice president with the Continental Telephone Company.
Saralee and Dick met as students at the University of California, Berkeley. Saralee's Gamma Phi Beta sorority was located just a few doors away from Dick's Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. In Dos Palos, Saralee and Dick raised two sons: Richard and Fredrick. Saralee and Dick also leave four grandchildren (Holly, Andrew, William and Ian), and two great-grandchildren (Julia and Emily). A fifth grandchild, Kate, preceded them in death in 1999.
Saralee was born in Tulare, the oldest of four children, to Elmo and Frances Zumwalt, both doctors. All her siblings were brothers, a challenging situation at times. Two of Saralee's brothers preceded her in death: Bruce in 1993, and Elmo ("Bud") in 2000. Bud served in the U.S. Navy, rising in 1970 to its highest position, Chief of Naval Operations. Saralee's youngest brother, James, now retired, taught high school history in El Cajon.
A friend recently wrote, "Saralee was my favorite playmate when we were together in second grade at Wilson School. . . I always enjoyed seeing her for she was friendly, quick-witted, and a pleasure to be with." These qualities, along with life experiences (including by example inquisitive, mater-of-fact, and humorous doctor parents), help us understand why Saralee had so many friends and so enthusiastically embraced most of the good that the world offers. She was a renaissance woman, reading voraciously a wide variety of magazines, newspapers, catalogues and books. She discussed every topic imaginable: momentous and trivial current events, literature, social matters, politics, travel, arts, cooking, gardening, history, fashion and bridge. Reading material piled up around her easy chair as to pose a walking hazard at times. Only in the last couple of years did she lose ground with her reading. Saralee was a wonderful writer, creating spell-binding reviews of her world travels and year's events at Christmas letter time.
Saralee brought many beautiful things into her life: flowers, art, books, rich colors, Indian jewelry and good friends. She worked hard at keeping in touch with friends, teaching, volunteer work, affiliations in organizations and introducing her children and her grandchildren to interesting and wondrous delights of the world. That she was as wise and caring as she was interesting and humorous perhaps is what made people who knew her feel so special and what motivated her loved ones and students to do well, be more, and expand horizons.