Norman Freudenberger Crum passed into new life Sept. 2, 2013, in Lewiston.
A vigil and rosary service will be held at 7 Friday evening at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. A funeral Mass celebrating his life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Stanislaus. A luncheon reception will follow at the church hall.
Norman Crum was born to Franklin and Bess (Freudenberger) Crum on Sept. 29, 1926, at Wenatchee. He was the third of four sons. His brothers Floyd, Frank and Elroy preceded him in death. Norm and his brothers grew up during the Great Depression, on a small hardscrabble apple farm where they scratched out a living on the breaks and jagged bluffs of the Columbia River. The family later moved to Wilbur, Wash., where Norm attended high school, graduating but not walking at the ceremony because - at the age of 17 - he had enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He would not walk through graduation at Wilbur High School until June 5, 2004, when he was joined by his proud family! Norm served in the Navy from April 27, 1944, through honorable discharge on May 9, 1946.
Norm served most of his enlistment aboard the USS Suisun and, later, the USS Gardiners Bay. He was a machinist's mate and operated an anti-aircraft gun. The USS Suisun was a seaplane tender and in the waning months of the war his ship, stationed off Okinawa, came under sustained attack by Japanese fighter planes and kamikaze planes. At war's end, his ship was the eighth to enter Tokyo Bay in August 1945, and he had a view of the USS Missouri at the signing of the surrender documents. Dad had many interesting stories about his service, especially about shore leave in Tokyo immediately after the war. Upon discharge from the Navy, Norm attended college at Eastern Washington State College, Cheney, Wash., for one year on the G.I. Bill.
After his military service, Norm worked for a while on Wilbur-area farms and then at a Texaco gas station. In the late 1940s, Norm and his brother Elroy operated a Texaco gas station (Crum Brothers Texaco) in Sprague, Wash. In about 1950, Norm moved to Clarkston where he would start his auto parts career, first at Jones Auto Supply, then at Service Parts and Equipment. From 1967 to 1984, Norm owned and operated his own store, Parts Headquarters in Lewiston. Parts Headquarters was a very successful business, which is a good thing since in the 1970s and 1980s he was helping his five sons pay for college. His wife, Liz Crum, worked in the business for many years, as did all of their sons at one time or another. Norm sold the business and retired in 1984.
In about 1950, Norm met the love of his life, Elizabeth (Liz) White, through her half-sister, Ada, who was married to his brother, Elroy. Norm and Liz were married Feb. 24, 1952. They had five sons, Douglas (Mary), Gary (deceased too early in 2007) (Tammy), Curtis (Debbie), Timothy (Karen) and Kevin (Mary). Norm and Liz Crum have been blessed with 11 grandchildren, Amy, Gabriel, Whitney, Matt, Jenny, Natalie, Sean, Emily, Zachary, Rebecca and Richard; two step-grandchildren, Sarah and Rebecca; and four great-grandchildren, Austin, Avery, Alyson and Addison. Their grandchildren loved being with their grandparents, as they were generally liberally spoiled by them.
Through the years, Norm and Liz enjoyed a variety of vacations, especially cruises. They cruised the Panama Canal, the Mediterranean, Alaska, the Caribbean and the Pacific Coast of Mexico. They vacationed in Hawaii and the Canary Islands. They spent several years as "snowbirds" in Arizona and the northern end of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. In 2010, Norm and Liz visited Barcelona, Rome and the Vatican, Sicily, Ismir, Turkey, Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt, (where they saw the pyramids and the Sphinx), and the island nation of Malta. In the 1960s, the family vacationed on Priest Lake and Williams Lake with Elroy Crum and his family. Norm and Liz also visited many parts of the U.S.
In 1970, Norm and Liz found a place to relax on Coeur d'Alene Lake. Over the years they built up a very comfortable vacation home that is still in the family. From 1970 to present, family members spent as much time as possible on the deck at "the lake." The lake was, and is, a popular place for the five sons and their friends, and later, their wives and children. Luckily, Norm's business was able to finance enormous quantities of boat gas at the lake ... "Dad, where's the credit card?"
Together, Norman and Elizabeth Crum were fantastic parents, teaching their children by example, their faith and by their great love. Norman Crum was a practicing Roman Catholic through the time of his death.
Norman Crum was always there for his family and friends, steady and dependable, concerned but always in his own quiet way. That is not to say he was by nature a quiet man. He was a sociable man of good humor. He loved his friends. He loved a good joke. In later years he became convinced that every syllable he uttered was hilarious and worthy of repeating. There were many "Norm-isms."
Norman Crum was truly a great and good man and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
The family would like to thank all of Norm's friends, Dr. Chavez, Dr. Popham, Hospice, and the caregivers at Kindred Care for their kind assistance in his last days. Memorial donations can be made to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center Family Hospice.
