James "Jim" Crews' Obituary
James “Jim” Crews age 89 passed away of natural causes on May 24th, 2016 to be
with his Lord.
Jim was born January 20, 1927 at Tacoma General Hospital. He attended Grant Elementary School where he was a member of the 1939 championship soccer team. He then went to Jason Lee Junior High, class of 1942, and graduated from Stadium High School in January of 1945. At Stadium he was center on the football team under Coach John Henrick and played in the first Grid-Go-Round in 1943 and in the famous 1944 Thanksgiving Day Game against Lincoln High School.
Upon graduation he and classmates Don Eshelman and Dex Silver joined the U.S. Merchant Marine and trained at Catalina Island. He sailed the South Pacific before World War II ended and was awarded the Merchant Marine Victory Medal and the Pacific War Zone Medal for his service. Jim was a member of AMVETS and the American Legion.
Returning home after the war, he attended the College of Puget Sound graduating in 1951 with a major in history. While at CPS he was member of local Delta Kappa Phi Fraternity and played a role in bringing the national fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, to the school as its Washington Delta Chapter. He was proud of being Bond #29.
After graduation, he began working for his mother, Helen Crews, at the family business, Crews Auto Parts, Inc., which his father, Joe Crews, founded in 1935 at 3812 South Tacoma Way, finally taking it over in 1966 until retiring in 1989.
Jim became a 32nd Degree Mason in 1957 and was a life member of Evergreen State Lodge #68 and the Afifi Shrine.
In 1959 Jim became a midget race car enthusiast eventually owning several race cars and winning the Washington Midget Racing Association Championship in 1970. He was elected President of the association in 1971 and 1999 and was always spoken highly of by the friends he made in the racing fraternity. In 2008 Jim was inducted into the Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame for his involvement in auto racing.
Jim is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Dee Crews, his son Kyle (Marcia) of Tacoma, his son Keene of Seattle, grandchildren Elisabeth Stewart (Peter) and Cameron Crews (Megan), great-grandchildren Mason Crews and Jet Steed. He will be greatly missed by his family and the countless friends that he made over the years.
The family wishes to thank Tammy Bruya and the staff at River Rock Adult Family Home for their compassionate care of Jim during his final month.
Remembrances may be made to Jim’s favorite charity the Shrine Hospital for Children,www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org
Services will be held at Central Lutheran Church 409 Tacoma Avenue North, Tacoma, Washington at 2:00 PM, Friday the 3rd of June.
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