After a life of love and quiet grace, Doris Crumly of Lafayette, CA has passed.
Below, the family shares some of what made her life meaningful.
Doris spent her working life as ['short order cook', 'Harvard University'] — and was, by all accounts, loved by those who knew her best.
The work of a parent is rarely finished — it lives on in the children she loved.
Doris Elizabeth Taylor Crumly (19 December 1954 – 19 April 2026)
Any recounting, written by those suffering the heartbreak of absence, seems a poor reflection of the many virtues of a life of service. This summary does little to dispel this shortcoming. Those who knew and loved Doris will fill in the gaps with their own experiences of her kindness, empathy and compassion.
Doris Elizabeth Taylor Crumly was born in Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of Gordon Beech Taylor and Laura Ellen Kaye Taylor. She was the third of four children and the
only daughter. Her early upbringing was in Montclair, New Jersey. As a teenager the family moved to a rustic house on Swartswood Lake (NJ). Many of her most memorable
and formative experiences took place here. Learning to drive on the frozen lake, the introduction to indoor plumbing and lugging drinking water from the well created an appreciation for the natural world. After graduating from Newton High School, she traveled and worked in the West. Years later, upon the 50th anniversary of graduating, she reconnected with her high school friends via Zoom. Her recipe for chili came from the Colorado diner where she worked as a short order cook.
Eventually returning to New Jersey, she attended Rutgers University and worked in the Biology Learning Center where she met her future husband, Charles "Chuck" Robert Crumly. In the Fall of 1981, Doris and Chuck moved to Washington, DC where Chuck had a fellowship at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Doris enrolled in George Washington University. At the end of May 1982, Doris and Chuck married and honeymooned for 3 months in Europe traveling accompanying Chuck on his doctoral research. Doris enjoyed the continental ambiance. It wasn't long before they welcomed their first child, Robert Andrew Crumly. He was named after Chuck's father and Doris's brother. Robert has achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, and soon the whole family became actively involved with Little People of America.
The new family moved to Cambridge/Somerville. Doris handled motherhood with patience and grace while Chuck worked at Harvard University. Soon William James Crumly was born, named for Chuck and Doris's brothers.
After three years in the northeast the family moved back across the country to San Diego/Chula Vista. A third child was born, Ellen Jane Crumly, named for Chuck and Doris's mothers. Over the next several years the family moved a few times and finally settled in Chula Vista only a few blocks away from Chuck's sisters and parents. This naming of children illustrated a pattern of acknowledgement and recognition of the importance of family had been and continued to be one of her hallmark characteristics.
During these early years Doris volunteered as a Student Attendant helping children with a wide range of disabilities and conditions who needed special attention. These volunteering years took place while she completed her undergraduate degree. In 2002, Doris graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in Social Work. All during these years she was actively involved with the Community Congregational Church where she served as the Director of Christian Education.
A new job for Chuck in Berkeley and the family moved once more. And again, Doris managed all these changes with grace and grit. Soon she was back at work helping
others as a Medical Social Worker at an adult health care day center. At the same time, she managed to squeeze in a Master's degree in Social Work. Soon Doris was traveling around Contra Costa County as a Case Manager for the Regional Center of East Bay helping families with special needs. In early 2023, she retired after years of service to others.
In the last couple of years, she was proud of the successes of her children, and loved spending time with her five grandchildren. Reading together, splashing in the pool, making brownies, and celebrating family birthdays and holidays were anticipated. Thanksgiving was a special day. Sadly, her cancer diagnosis and disease brought a sudden, brief, cruel and undeserved end. She will always be remembered for a life devoted to others and for caring and nurturing her family and many friends. Preceded in death by her parents, Laura and Gordon, and her brothers Jim and Ed, she is survived by her husband of nearly 44 years, Chuck, and her children Rob (Shimona), Will (Erika) and Ellen (Zach) and her treasured grandchildren Sam, Aashi, Zoe, Joey and Leo, as well as her younger brother Andy.
In lieu of flowers/gifts, please consider donating to the Little People of America or Doctors without Borders, organizations that held deeply meaningful places in Doris's heart.
