Mildred R. Crowley Obituary (1909 - 2014)

Mildred R. Crowley, an incredible 104, formerly of Bloomington, died at 11:55 pm, Monday, May 5, 2014 in Decatur, Georgia.Her funeral will be at 12:00 pm, Wednesday, May 14 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Bloomington with Rev. Jeffrey Windy officiating. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Normal. Visitation will be from 11:30am-Noon, Wednesday at the church.Mildred was a fun loving, mischievous, and wonderful aunt and a sweet, patient and adoring wife. She had no children of her own, but hosted nieces and nephews throughout the long Bloomington summers, creating memories that they carry to this day.Mildred Ruth Kocher was born on December 14, 1909 in Trinidad, British West Indies, the daughter of Paul William Kocher, a cocoa plantation manager, and Frieda Kocher. Her father, a native German, was confined to a prisoner of war camp briefly in Trinidad during WWI, and she often talked fondly of going to visit him in the low security camp, and helping him in his vegetable garden. After the war, in 1919 the family moved to Brooklyn, NY and Mildred soon became a true city girl. She graduated from St. Marys College of Notre Dame, Indiana in 1929 with a major in Math, and a minor in Sociology . She went on to earn an MA from Columbia University in Math and teach college math and beginners French at a college in Kentucky in 1932. Mildred fell in love and married Frederick A. Crowley, MD (the brother of a St. Marys College friend) on April 5, 1948 in New York City, NY, and moved to Bloomington to start life as a doctors wife and member of the Bloomington community. Fred died on February 5, 1995.Survivors include nephews Eric Glenn Kocher of Haines, AK and Atlanta, GA, Christopher Kocher of San Francisco, CA, Carl Kocher of Santa Barbara, CA, and niece Debra Margaret Mildred Kocher of Atlanta, GA, and many grand nieces and nephews.Mildred was preceded in death by older brother Paul Harold, and younger brother Eric, and nephews Dana Kocher and Terry Kocher.Many will remember Mildred as the amused and bemused, and sometimes slightly perplexed wife of Dr. Crowley of the Gailey Eye Clinic. She was an avid tennis player and golfer at the Bloomington Country Club, but always found time to play hostess to her extended family and many friends.Memorials may be made to Holy Trinity Church, Bloomington or St. Marys College, Notre Dame, Indiana.