MAE L CROOKER (CHURCHILL)

Mae Louise (Churchill) Crooker, 96, of Northwood died peacefully Monday, November 22, 2021 at the home of her daughter, Grace and son-in-law Richard Levergood, of Northwood, NH. She was born on February 4, 1925 in Fort Fairfield, Maine. Her parents; Annie V. True and Guy B. Churchill raised her, an only child, for the first 5 years of her childhood. However, due to family pressures brought on by the early death of her grandfather, George C. True, her mother, Annie, was needed at the True farm to help raise her 13 siblings. The declining potato industry in Aroostook County caused financial pressures to most families at this time. Maisie went on to live with her grandparents, Grace E. and William F. Churchill on their farm in Fort Fairfield. Maisie, as she was affectionately called, moved away from her roots in the “County” to attend University of Maine at Farmington in 1944. She majored in home economics where she mastered sewing, cooking and nutrition. During summers, she worked as a maid on Martha’s Vineyard, where she met her husband, Richard F. Crooker. They were married on November 11, 1948. Together with her husband they built their home in Holden, MA and raised a family of two daughters, Connie and Grace. They were both active in the Chaffins Congregational Church in Holden and sang in the church choir, Maisie worked at the local schools as the cafeteria manager. She was a skilled cook, seamstress, quilter and knitter. She loved ragtime music and played the piano and accordion. Widowed in 2000, she moved to elderly housing at Checkerberry Village in Holden. She took up watercolor painting and doll making. She loved to be involved with her family and was a wonderful mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Maisie moved in 2010 to live closer to her daughter, Grace and lived in the Northwood Meadows elderly apartments in Northwood NH. She attended the Northwood Congregational Church, participated in the local Harvey Lake Women’s group, and enjoyed being with friends at the Chesley Library Memory Cafe. She leaves behind her eldest daughter, Constance J. Youngstrom and her husband, Mark, of Shrewsbury VT; her second daughter, Grace E. Levergood and her husband, Richard, of Northwood NH; two grandsons, Benjamin A. Levergood and his wife, Anne, of Northfield NH and two great-grandsons, Andrew and Bennett. Her second grandson, Nicholas R. Levergood, resides in Indianapolis, IN completing his residency in ophthalmology.

The family would like to extend appreciation to the staff of the Granite VNA for all their care and support throughout the past years. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 18, 2021 and will be conducted by the Rev. Renee Rouse at the Northwood Congregational Church, UCC, 881 First NH Turnpike, Northwood, NH at 11 am. A private burial service will be held at the Worcester County Memorial Park in Paxton, MA at a later date. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Northwood Congregational Church, UCC.