Mary Jean Howell Crawford, age 90, passed away at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital on July 25, 2021. She was preceded in death by her first husband of 26 years, Carl Douglas Howell, Jr. and her second husband of 33 years, William "Bill" P. Crawford.
At age five when her mother died, she, being the oldest of the three siblings, became the "Mother" of the group.
In spite of her difficult beginnings, she became one of the first female Real Estate Brokers in Memphis, Tennessee and started her own real estate company: Carson Howell Realtors. Later she joined Crye-Leike Realtors where she became a lifetime member of the Memphis Board of Realtors-Million Dollar Sales Club.
Her success as a career woman did not diminish her commitment to being an excellent homemaker. She was a talented seamstress and cook. However she fulfilled her most important role in life as a devout Christian. She remained a loyal member of Germantown Baptist Church for over 40 years. In the early years she enjoyed teaching children's Sunday school classes.
She was independent, courageous, and fiercely loyal and generous to her friends and family. She was loved and will be missed by many.
She is survived by her son, Larry D. Howell of Olive Branch, Mississippi; daughter, Cynthia L. Howell of Lawrence, Kansas; step-daughters, Debra (Mike) Black of Austin, Texas, Nancy Crawford of Austin, and Karol (Bob) Barber of Hernando, Mississippi; five grandchildren, Graham Black of Austin, Ginevra (Matthew) Holtkamp of Lawrence, and Rob, Ben, and Molly Barber of Hernando; one great-grandson, Henry Finn Holtkamp of Lawrence; and brother, Earl Shelton of Germantown, Tennessee.
Funeral services will be held Sunday, August 1, at 2:00 PM at Memphis Funeral Home, 5599 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee with burial to immediately follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will occur from 1:00 until 2:00 PM on Sunday, at the funeral home.
