Druscilla Cook Critcher

Raleigh - Druscilla Cook Critcher, 78, died March 17, 2011. She was born in Rowan County, NC on July 16, 1932 to the late Rufus John and Mamie Morton Cook. Mrs. Critcher retired from the NC Department of Motor Vehicles. She was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Raleigh. She loved traveling, taking photos and spending time with her family and friends. She was a generous and passionate woman who will be missed by all who knew her.

Mrs. Critcher is survived by daughters, Cassandra Critcher of Richmond, VA and Tina Mason and husband, Steve of Holly Springs; sister, Angela Walker and husband, Paul of Charlotte; and grandchildren, Anne Louise Mason of Surry, VA and Jocelyn Mason of Chapel Hill.

A Service of Remembrance will be held 2pm Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at Saint Francis United Methodist Church, 2965 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary. The family will receive friends at the church following the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions in honor of Cassandra to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Attn: Donor Services, PO Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265-0309, www.komen.org or Heifer International, www.heifer.org.

Condolences may be sent through www.brownwynne.com.

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The Gift of Age: The Story of Druscilla Critcher by Jocelyn Mason 11/27/1999

Sixty-seven year old Druscilla Natoria Cook Critcher was born on July 16, 1932 in Rowan County, North Carolina. She lived in a rural area and all the property was deeded to her father from her grandmother. Druscilla's family had a vegetable garden, a small peach orchard, and a strawberry patch. She is the mother of two daughters and has two granddaughters.

Druscilla grew up in Rowan County, North Carolina. She has one younger sister, Angela. They were very close growing up and played paper dolls, house, and roamed throught the woods and fields around their house together. Druscilla's childhood dream was to get married and have two girls. She was a great believer in our 32nd President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who at the time was her hero because of his wonderful leadership qualities and the act of improving conditions for working class people. When Druscilla was 12 years old she remembers the ending of World War II because the children took metal bars and banged on a wrecked car in celebration of peace.

On Druscilla's thirteenth birthday something frightening happened. The first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. The young people at the time did not know if they would have a world to live on when the bomb dropped. When Druscilla was in high school the Korean War started. Friends in her school were recruited to fight. One of her very close friends died in that war. There were also funny things that happened during high school. One of Druscilla's friends owneed an old Chevrolet car and a whole lot of people would hide in the car and they would drive pass the school. Just before the car passed the principle's office the driver would duck down and steer the car by peering under the steering wheel. It appeared to the people who saw the car from outside that it was moving by itself.

Druscilla is now a widow because of her husband's death nine years ago. She met him when she was taking a class in the building where he worked. She was on her way to get a drink after class when she decided to jump over a large, marble vase. Druscilla tripped and fell right outside his office door. They were eventually introduced and met often at the coffee shop. That was not her most embarrassing moment though. Druscilla was at a party that her friends and relatives were having for her shortly after she was married. She stood up to introduce her new husband and she forgot his name.

Druscilla lived in lots of places: Raleigh, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Kannapolis, North Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Memphis, Tennessee. The favorite place she lived was Birmingham, Alabama where she began her married life. Druscilla's first daughter was born in Birmingham and those were some of the happiest days of her life. When the spacecraft landed on the moon Druscilla did not get to watch it on TV because her family did not own a TV, but she and her family listened to the live radio broadcast. She knew this was a whole new era of technology in the world.

Druscilla worked for the Department of Motor Vehicles and was in the Telephone Communication Center where she earned $35,000 a year. She helped private investigators giving them information they were allowed to have and talked to the highway patrol after looking up information on a car. She also helped banks with loan information. Druscilla has traveled all over the world to England, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Israel, Turkey, Greece, and Africa. Her favorite trip of all was to Hawaii because she went with her two granddaughters, Anne and Jocelyn.

Druscilla believes that a lot of the changes in technology and health care have been for the better. When she was a young girl she did not have running water, air conditioning, central heat, or television. She has also recognized the change in schooling. Most learning when she was a child was done by repeated practice. She says that schools are much better today because children are encouraged to think for themselves rather than learn by memorization.