The Passing of Lula (Scott) Crew

In my last post, I mentioned that my 2x great-grandaunt, Lula (Scott) Crew - sister of my 2x-great grandmother Scoatney (Scott) Cooper - was an educator until her death in 1936. What I didn’t mention was that she actually died at work.

The Spelman Messenger, where I believe I first saw her death reported, gave no indication of how Lula had passed away. Instead, it focused on her contributions to not only their school community but also to the Georgia communities in which she had taught and served. “In the death of Mrs. Henry Crew (Lula Scott Crew),” they wrote, “at Lithonia, Georigia, on January 14, 1936, Spelman College has lost one of its most loyal and representative alumnae.” They continued:

“Ever since her graduation from Spelman High School in 1902, she had kept in contact with Spelman, sending accounts of her work and interests, and watching as well as contributing materially to the progress of her Alma Mater. One service of hers which was particularly valuable was that of recommending worthy students to Spelman.

Her work has been among the people of small communities where she improved the schools and was energetic in the church activities. Spelman College extends sympathy to her daughter Beuna, who was a student here at the time of her mother’s death."

I then found a funeral notice in the Atlanta Constitution. It noted, “The friends and relatives of Mrs. Lula Scott Crew, a teacher in the Yellow River public school, Lithonia, Ga.…are invited to attend the funeral of Mrs. Lula Scott Crew, who passed away suddenly January 14…”

The Atlanta Constitution, 15 January 1936, p. 20. Accessed via Internet Archive (archive.org).

My interest was piqued – what had happened? Could I find more information? So, I sent away for her death certificate. Here’s what it said:

“Fatal heart attack causing sudden death.” 

Now, I know it might sound weird to say that I get saddened when I learn about my ancestors’ deaths, given that I, of course, already know that they are no longer with us. But, especially when a death is in some way tragic or shocking, or when I’ve been researching them a lot, as I had with Lula, it still hits me to think about them and their family and friends going through that. Lula was born sometime in the early 1880s. That means she was somewhere in her early-to-mid-50s when she passed away. That’s just too young. And she left behind a husband and two college-aged children.

But there was even more to know, and I have to thank my distant cousin, Leslie E. Spencer, for sharing an article with me that I hadn’t come across (despite searching the same database and papers!). It was another obituary for Lula, this one published in the Atlanta Daily World, an African American newspaper founded in 1928 that still publishes today. Headlined “Lithonia School Principal Dies at Her Post,” it continued:

Mrs. Lula Scott Crew, well known principal of the Lithonia public school, died suddenly Tuesday morning at the schoolhouse where she has given much valuable service to that community for a number of years. The end came around nine o’clock.

It seems she went while doing her beloved work, and serving her beloved community. In fact, her death certificate notes that there were witnesses that attested to her cause of death. It was likely students or other teachers at the school. While that must have been scary for them, she wasn’t alone. 

Today, January 14, 2023, is the 87^th anniversary of her passing. Lula Scott Crew, rest well.