Crossville — Honoring the Life of Melinda Lee Crawford
Melinda was born in Nashville, Tennessee on January 15, 1974. Her family moved to Bowling Green, KY in 1976 when her father, Nicholas Crawford, joined the Western Kentucky University faculty.
Melinda’s smile was contagious, and she happily shared her love of Nature and animals with everyone! Stray animals always found their way into her arms! She also loved the performing arts, especially singing. In her early years Melinda performed in community theatre in Bowling Green, KY, first as Tiny Tim in “Scrooge” and then as Wendy in “Peter Pan”. After attending Bowling Green High School, Melinda graduated from Western Kentucky University. Her interest in science and research grew quickly as evidenced by an award-winning research paper at WKU.
Her growing enthusiasm and curiosity for life led her to study the human body, focusing on the human brain. Melinda entered the Graduate Program at The University of Arizona in Tucson where she worked hard and long, earning an M.S. in Physiology with a Minor in Neurophysiology. Of course, even with her studies, she found time to commune with nature, climb Arizona Mountains, scuba dive and participate in Christian groups.
For a while after graduate school, Melinda performed pioneering research in an RNA science lab. However, her love of family led to her caregiving for her Grandmother, Lillian Bockman Crawford in Cookeville, TN for many years.
Melinda had tremendous Faith, always wanting to help others reach the peace she felt from God. It is with sorrow that we have lost Melinda so soon, but we know that she has arrived in Heaven. I’m sure she will assist God in caring for all the peoples of the world!
Melinda died unexpectedly on October 23 in her home in Crossville, Tennessee at the age of 51. She is survived by her father, Nicholas C. Crawford, of Cookeville, TN, now living in Crossville, TN. Also surviving is her mother, Whitetta P. Adams (Michael), originally of Nashville, TN, now living in Gainesville, GA, her brother, Benjamin West Crawford (Allison) and their children, Cayden, Jayden, Kaylen, and Ramsey of Bowling Green, KY.
Donations in memory of Melinda may be sent to: 1. Tennessee Disaster Response Team, 1018 Calfkiller Highway, Monterey, TN 38574, ATTN: Ken Hall. 2. Cookeville First United Methodist Church “Grace on the Go Food Ministry” for the homeless population.
