Betty (Brennan) Crawford

Betty (Brennan) Crawford, aged 89, of Savage, passed away peacefully at her home on January 22, 2025. 

Betty was born in London in 1935, the 11th of 14 children to her parents, Bertie and Charlotte. Her siblings were Dorothy, Violet, Vera, Gladys, Louie, Bertie, Mary, Edna, Fred, Baby Jean, Betty, Brenda, Derek, and Pauline.

She is survived by her three daughters Siobhan, Catherine, Anne, son-in-law Darren, as well as her grandchildren, Gemma, Robert, Maitiu, Laura, Sinead, Stephen, Marty, Darren, Ruaidhri, and Leanne. She also had 17 great grandchildren (another on the way), and had the experience of raising one, Rylan. She is also survived by siblings Derek, sister-in-law Jean, Pauline and brother-in-law, Ron.

She will be missed by all who knew her. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held in Betty's honor at 11AM with a Time of Gathering from 10AM-11AM on January 30, 2025, all at St. Michael Catholic Church. Betty will be laid to rest at St. Michael Catholic Cemetery.

Mass will be livestreamed through St. Mike's Youtube.

Betty was born in London, England in 1935 the 11th child of 14 to her parents Bertie and Charlotte Orum. Her siblings, “One and all, big and small” were Dorothy, Violet, Vera, Gladys, Louie, Bertie, Mary, Edna, Fred, Jean, Brenda, Derek and Pauline.

Her early years were dominated by World War 2 where she experienced the bombs of the London Blitz and was a child evacuee to the countryside. When she returned to London, the family had a lucky escape when a row of houses near their home was hit by bombs and the blast blew off doors and windows. Her father said that was too close for comfort and the family packed up and left for Cardiff where he had Welsh relatives.

Betty was a bright student at school but began her life’s adventures at age 16 when she became a waitress at Butlin’s Holiday Camp. Among others, Howard Keel the American actor, was her most famous customer at her table. It was also the place where she met a handsome Irishman, Leo Brennan, who was peeling potatoes in the kitchen. He took her back to his hometown of Belfast and they soon became husband and wife in 1958. They both loved to travel, taking cruises and holidays to Europe at a time when it was not common.

Betty and Leo had 4 daughters, the first child died at birth but soon after followed Siobhan, Catherine and Anne.

Shopkeeping was in Betty’s blood. She first worked in the Brennan family shop and progressed on to her own ‘House Shop’ at the family home in Beechmount where she is still remembered fondly. The Civil disturbances in the North of Ireland had begun in 1969 and she lived through those troubling times unscathed. 

It was a sad year in 1972 with the passing of her husband Leo at the age of 42. She was now a widow at age 36 with 3 young children. She worked hard to let her girls experience what she loved: sun, sand and the culture of Europe. They were inspired when she was the person to step forward when they needed a volunteer for the bullfighting, riding a camel or having snakes draped around their neck.

Betty met and married her second husband, Davy Crawford in 1977. Davy had 9 children himself, so they now had a blended family of 12. Unfortunately, David passed away 9 years later of cancer. They had worked hard together in Davy’s Spar supermarket and didn’t have long together after he retired. Betty went on to own her own supermarket in Belfast but eventually retired in 1991, treating her children and grandchildren to a holiday to Disneyworld to celebrate. Her grandchildren in Ireland are Stephen, Gemma, Darren, Martin, Ruardhri, Robert, Leanne and Maitiu and great grandchildren Keelin, Kyle, Declan, Amy, Conor, Jack, Ciara, Maria, Eoin, Odhran, Casey-Lee, Ella, Kieran, Sarah, Aria, Oisin and another baby boy is due soon.

Betty moved to the United States in 1999 and became a citizen in 2005. She was live-in Nana to her grandchildren Laura, Sinead and great granddaughter Rylan. Betty was an active member of her community and friend groups. Over the years Betty volunteered at St Michael funeral functions bringing her special touch and orders to decorating the tables. She was known at the Golden Agers, Club Prior (Bingo), Tuesday morning breakfast at Mystic Lake Casino, Puzzle Exchanges, and making friends with complete strangers. 

Nana was a memorable character with her life stories, quick witty responses, putting others first, thrift store finds, line dancing, puzzles, fairy gardens, crosswords, sudoku, Judge Judy, losing her glasses (we got an airtag for them), her collection of fancy dress, cooking, and still showing off how she could do a handstand at her age. She was on first name basis with the customer service staff and cart collectors at the local grocery stores. She always had time to say ‘hello’ and stop others in the store to give them coupons she wasn’t going to use.

Nana was her own ‘handyman’ and passed on her life skills to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

Betty loved her Welsh and adopted Irish heritage. She would stand to attention when Wales was playing rugby at Cardiff Arms Park to sing the National Anthem: she sang the first lines and mimed the rest as she could never remember the words. 

Betty was loved by many and will be forever in our hearts.