Tributes

The Story of our Mother, Helen Marie Crumrine Helen Marie Tarrillion was born September 8th 1927 …the feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since both of her parents were of French ancestry… her middle name was Marie, which is French for Mary and the only daughter of Bill and Annie Tarrillion. Her Father nicknamed her "BeBe" because of how small she was… she only weighed 14 pounds at 1 year of age. She also was very ill as a young child and almost died of pneumonia at age 6. Being the only girl, Mom was spoiled. Granpa Bill built her a dollhouse in the backyard, the size of a modern day storage shed. Even though growing up during the Depression and the early stages of WW II, Gram and Grandpa were able to afford a Maid, a black lady by the name of Gladys. Even Gladys spoiled Mom… Mom really liked Gladys a whole lot and confided in her… things she would not or could not share with her own mother. Mom met our Dad on a "blind date". They went to the Baumi place @ Medina River in Castroville with a group of friends around 1947 or so. Not knowing Dad's personality… as a trickster… She became furious when the girls were splashed a lot by Dad's antics. She said "You are an idiot!" However, he kept coming around. One weekend, Dad took the bus and went to see Mom, but she had a "date" that evening. She wasn't going to cancel it, just because he came by… Dad said "That's fine, but the rest of your weekends are mine". And that's the way it was until they married on June 5th, 1948, becoming Helen Marie Crumrine. They had 5 Children: Bill, Jeff, Pat, Nancy and Joe. Growing up under Helen Marie Crumrine, meant growing up CATHOLIC, and all that it implies… This means going to Catholic schools, and not taking many vacations. But our Grandfather, Elmer Crumrine owned a place at Medina Lake. It was a good trade-off… We shared many happy weekends and summers there… In 1960, our Dad, Grandpa Elmer and our Uncle Elmer Jr started Crumrine Printers and our Mom did not work outside the home… Money was not always abundant, but we had everything we needed. Mom became upset, because Dad had to use our only car in the business. She loved that 1959 Chevy Belair because it had an automatic transmission. She hated standard shift. A Catholic education meant that we also had to walk home from school or ride the city bus from St. Ann's or St. Paul's Central Catholic HS. She found ways to save money by giving haircuts at home for the 4 boys… saving Top Value Trading Stamps, and not letting us run the air conditioner at night. This is probably one of the reasons that I went into the Air Conditioning Business… So I could be cool at night!! Growing up under Mom's rule meant prying the Rosary every night after supper, sometimes… even in Spanish… Mom later told me that our Grandma Dora Crumrine did that too. Mom also said that she could not have asked for a better Mother-in-law. In the house that we lived in on Cromwell, there were 9 trees… in the back yard… 5 of which were Pecan trees. That meant that every fall, we had to pick up the pecans, crack the pecans and shell the pecans… 'til we were sick of it… All five of us, even little Joe as soon as he could walk, were told abount pecan duty. There was NO GETTING OUT OF THIS for anyone. But, we all enjoyed Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies, Divinity Fudge and Brownie Pecan Pie… all year long… So what are you gonna do??? Mom loved taking naps… every afternoon from 1 to 3 pm… This also meant that WE TOOK NAPS during the summer whether we liked it or not… but, you know what MOM??? I sure enjoy a good nap whether I can sneak one in… I'm not sure if this is true or not, but Mom may have been an inspiration for the cartoon character named "Wimpy", from the old "Popeye" cartoon… Mom loved hamburgers and couldn't get enough of them. In fact, when Mom was in the hospital in October of 2006, for her broken hip, I had the privilege of feeding her… Her favorite food. It may have been the last time she ate solid food… everything was pureed after that… At least once a week, she fixed hamburgers at home and at least twice a month, we ate at Joe's Hamburger Stand on Blanco Road just north of Hildebrand. The building is still standing, but the business only operates one day per week. Mom also loved shopping downtown, before Wonderland and North Star Mall were built. At least one Saturday a month, she could be found at Joske's, J.C. Penny's, Guarantee Shoes, Sears o Wolfe and Marx. She was active in many organizations, some examples being… The Holy Family Guild, Affiliates of the Society of Mary. The Sultanas de Bexar, Holy Seplicar, and the Pillars of San Fernando. She also participated in her Bunco and Bridge Clubs for many years. She loved Bowling with Dad, and after his retirement… loved to travel, too. This is something I found out just yesterday, when reading some old letters in a box of Mom's stuff… It shows something about the INTEGRITY of Mom and Dad. They were very good friends with many Priests and Sisters in our Archdiocese… But one of the priests was struggling with his decision to leave the priesthood. Many of his associates were shunning him during this process, but Mom and Dad remained in contact with him for many years and he treasured their friendship immensely. This is a good example of how Christ would not have turned his back on a friend in a difficult situation. In that same box, I found several keepsakes that were inspirational to her. Many Rosaries, Mantias… Including the story of the selection of Mom's favorite Pope… John the 23rd… She also loved that John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic President… Mom suffered a mini-stroke in August of 2000, when they were attending an Alhambra function in Austin, Texas… She had come down with food poisoning at the hotel they were staying at. The ambulance was called and they rushed her to the hospital; while on the way there, her blood pressure had shot up. Dad felt that there was something wrong with Mom and it turned out to be the beginning of her Alzheimer's condition. She was never the same after this. Again, She fell and broke her hip in October of 2006… she never walked again. Slowly, but surely the Alzheimer's was stealing our Mother away, a little at a time. It has been a difficult thing to watch… Mom died Sunday, September 7th, 2008, one day short of her 81st birthday… Mom's greatest gift to her children was the gift of her Catholic faith… As a matter of fact, on my Dad's deathbed, I promised him I would see to it that Mom went to church every Saturday at St. Francis… I did this for 18 months… Because of this, I met my wife Lorri… My air-conditioning business grew immensely and I received many other blessings in the past 5 years because of that promise. Mom… we are greatful to God for the Blessings of YOU… Thanks for everything you have taught us… Thanks for keeping us in line when we didn't want to… Thanks for all your dedication and prayers. You did a great Job!!! God Bless You… The Family would like to ask for a special intention… One of Mom's Grandsons, Justin Crumrine is unable to be with us at this time. The reason being is that on Monday, He will be deploying to Iraq. We ask that you pray to keep him safe in God's Hands…

Tributes

Helen Marie Crumrine

September 8, 1927 - September 7, 2008