Funeral Details

Joanne Strauss Crown, 93, of Wilmette, Illinois died on January 25, 2015, surrounded by family and friends.

Joanne was born on August 25, 1921, to Daniel Arden and Eileen (Mills) Strauss in North Manchester, Indiana. After graduating from North Manchester’s Central High School, Joanne attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana for one semester before transferring to Indiana University in Bloomington. At Indiana, Joanne majored in business with a minor in education and was president of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Following her graduation in 1943, Joanne moved to Chicago, Illinois. She worked at the Harris Bank, first in the stenographic pool and later as a secretary to two commodities bankers specializing in agriculture, a job that she loved.

On June 17, 1948, Joanne married Robert Crown (d. 1969). The couple initially resided in Evanston, Illinois before moving to Wilmette, Illinois in 1954, where Joanne lived for the remainder of her life. Joanne focused her energies on raising her three children as well as on a multitude of civic organizations. Joanne was deeply committed to the U.S. Navy: she was a life member and national director of the Navy League of the United States, former vice president of the Chicago Council of the Navy League of the United States, director of the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation, trustee emeritus of the Naval War College Foundation, and an honorary member of the Naval Order of the United States. She worked diligently for the care and rights of the disabled as past president of the Women’s Board and life member of the hospital board of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and as life member and director of Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago. She was a life trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestral Association, a trustee emeritus at Tri-State University in Angola, Indiana, and a board member and past president of the Kappa Kappa Gamma North Shore Alumnae Association. Joanne also served on the Women’s Boards of Northwestern University and the University of Chicago and on the board of The Guild of the Chicago Historical Society.

Joanne was devoted to her family, the town of North Manchester, Indiana University, traveling with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, her many civic ventures, and her home in Wilmette. Her graciousness, sense of humor, strength, loyalty, and determination will be deeply missed by all whose lives she touched.

Joanne is survived by her three children, Rebecca Crown (Richard Robb), David Crown, and Judith (David) Craver; eight grandchildren; 14 nieces and nephews.

A private burial has already taken place. A memorial service to celebrate Joanne’s long and full life will be scheduled in the coming months.

Preferred memorials are to Community Foundation of Wabash County, 218 East Main Street, P.O. Box 7, North Manchester, Indiana 46962, www.cfwabash.org, Access Living, 115 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60654, www.accessliving.org, The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 345 East Superior Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611, www.ric.org, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 220 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604, www.cso.org.

Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, www.cjfinfo.com, 847.229.8822