Crowell, Lorenzo M.

Lorenzo M. Crowell, Captain, USAF

June 24, 1943 – February 14, 2015

Dr. Lorenzo M. Crowell, 70, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 12, 2014, after a twelve-year fight against multiple myeloma cancer. He was surrounded by his family and friends at the UAMS hospital in Little Rock, AR.  Dr. Crowell was born in Milwaukee, WI, to Lorenzo and Odella Crowell in 1943.

An Eagle Scout, he graduated high school in Needham, MA. He earned a B.S. from the United States Air Force Academy in 1965 and went on to serve his country during the Cold War by flying B52 bombers out of Minot, ND, and during the Vietnam War by flying HH 43 rescue helicopters and C-130 rescue aircraft out of Thailand and Vietnam. He later flew “Huey” Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters in air security support for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. In 1982, Dr. Crowell earned a Ph.D. in military history at Duke University. He went on to teach at the U.S. Air Force Academy as well as the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base.

Upon retirement from the USAF in 1988, he moved to Starkville, Mississippi, where he continued his academic career as an Associate Professor of History at Mississippi State University. He was awarded the MS Humanities Council Humanities Teacher Award of 2004. Dr. Crowell was also well known for his active involvement in the Starkville community. He was a member of the MSU Faculty Senate, board member of the Statewide Federal Credit Union, and active member of the MS Democratic Party. He was an avid supporter of local athletics, acting as an MSU track and field official as well as a youth coach for local soccer, baseball, softball, and basketball leagues. Also, a Rotarian, he established the first international Rotary Youth Exchange program in MS.

A devoted father and husband, Dr. Crowell is survived by his wife of over 40 years, Marianne M. Crowell of Starkville, MS, and their children Anna O. Crowell of Washington, DC, Ruth C. Wild of London, UK, Lorenzo “Larry” M. Crowell IV of Brooklyn, NY, and James E. Crowell of Washington, DC, as well as his grandson Lorenzo “Ren” M. Crowell V of Brooklyn, NY. He is also survived by his sister Edee G. Crowell of Chatham, MA.

Dr. Crowell will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors on September 28, 2014, at 3:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Crawfish for Cancer, Inc., a charity founded by his son James in 2008 to raise support for multiple myeloma cancer research (crawfishforcancer.org/donate; or 161 E. 91st Street, Apt. 4A, New York, N.Y. 10128).

Integrity, Honor, and Respect
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