Together Again-Marjorie S. Crump joined her husband George in heaven – their final home – on Friday, January 1, 2010. Their marriage of nearly 60 years was a lesson in love, fidelity and mutual respect for family, friends and even casual acquaintances. They were separated only by George’s death in 2005. Now they are truly together again.
Marjorie was the perfect compliment to the multi-interested George: She exhibited remarkable facility in business, sports, academic endeavors and community and charitable outreaches. She was perhaps best known for her involvement with WCMS Radio, Tidewater’s legacy country music station, as a partner in its founding in 1954 and as CEO from 1983 (when George assumed an advisory role) until its sale in 2000. During that time, Marjorie oversaw prestigious awards as the Country Music Association’s General Manager of the Year in a Large Market, the Advertising Club of Tidewater’s Award of Excellence, and Business Woman of the Year in Hampton Roads. In her spare time, Marjorie joined George in a successful pursuit of credentials as a Paramedic, volunteering for both the Norfolk Paramedical Rescue Service and the WCMS Marine Patrol. She also contributed to the growth of the Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters and assisted in the expansion of the innovative Hyperbaric Medicine Department at DePaul Hospital, to which she contributed a hyperbaric chamber. An interest in the future of Norfolk, coupled with the love of animals, led her and George to become founding members of the Virginia Zoological Society “Friends of the Zoo”. Marjorie served as Vice President during the 70’s and early 80’s. Her love of young people and her foundation in Christian Values were shown when she served as an Advisory Committee Member of Young Life of Western Tidewater.
An early fascination with architecture led her to design and oversee construction of several homes in Virginia Beach. She put what she learned to work again when she designed her and George’s retirement home, called “Green Acres”, in Suffolk.
Valuing fitness, Marjorie demonstrated proficiency in tennis, judo and water sports.
A love of travel led Marjorie to become a licensed pilot. She and George traveled extensively in Europe and Asia. She learned to speak German and enough French to help her do well in her studies at the Ritz Hotel’s Escoffier Cooking School in Paris.
Marjorie was truly a woman of depth and accomplishment. She will be missed by those who loved her most, her son Rick and wife Kit, daughter Pam and husband Gene, her four granddaughters, Catherine Weller-Sloane, Whitney Weller-Snyder, Ashley Aubrey Brown and Brittaney Gailon-Evelyn Brown; devoted family, countless friends and her special assistant for many years, Deborah House.
A memorial service will be conducted, Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 2 PM in Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church, 3488 Godwin Blvd, Suffolk VA 23434 by the Rev. Ruffin Alphin with a reception to follow. R. W. Baker & Co. Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the family.
Memorial donations may be made the Marjorie Crump Memorial Fund for the Preservation of Radio History at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, 222 5th Ave. South, Nashville, TN 57203-4206. Condolences may be registered at www.rwbakerfh.com.