Dorothy “Dottee” Edwards Crenshaw Cronk, passed away peacefully on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021 in her home with her family in Urbanna, after a short battle with dementia.
Dottee was born on May 24, 1942 in Richmond to Leroy Gillette Crenshaw Jr. and Dorothy Edwards Crenshaw. She was a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School, Richmond and Converse College, Spartanburg, S.C., where she met Lynn Collins Skinner, first her roommate and later her cherished lifelong friend.
Dottee lived in Richmond with her family and large community of friends until moving to Urbanna in 2004. She always maintained her close connections to Richmond with frequent visits over the years. She enjoyed many happy hours playing bridge with close friends in Richmond and Urbanna. After moving to Urbanna, she became active in local communities as well as Christ Church Parish in Saluda. While Dottee was a “city girl,” she had a passion for spending time with her beloved cousins “in the country” in Ebony.
Dottee was a pillar of strength and, at the same time, the kindest and most caring person to all who knew her — her eyes and smile said it all! Her charm and warmth were a beacon of light and energy that lit up any room she entered.
Some of her most memorable contributions were the floral talents she shared with her friends and family. These talents could be seen through her work with the Boxwood Garden Club in Richmond, The Garden Club of the Middle Peninsula, The Wild Bunch in Kilmarnock, as well as through personal arrangements made for family and friends for special occasions.
During her very active life, she was an advocate for her children. This was especially seen through her fight for the advancement of special education laws in Virginia. She also supported the family business, Crenshaw Corporation, initially as a switchboard operator in her teenage years during the summers and in later years with her brothers. Through her work at Crenshaw, she helped the company expand the use of computers, create an online presence, and engage in early stages of digital marketing.
Dottee was preceded in death by her husband, C. Tabor Cronk; and her parents, Leroy Gillette Crenshaw Jr. and Dorothy May Edwards Crenshaw.
She is survived by her beloved children and grandchildren; her daughters, Dorothy “Dolly” Edwards Cronk, Jennifer Clay Cronk and Catherine Tabor Cronk; her son, Benjamin Tabor Cronk (Jonti Simmons); and three grandchildren, Kylie Marino, Mabel Cronk and Milo Cronk. She is also survived by her brothers, Charles Walford Crenshaw (Joyce Moore Crenshaw) and Leroy “Lee” Gillette Crenshaw III (Susan Henderson); as well as her nephews, Leroy “Lee” Gillette Crenshaw IV and Scott Toon Crenshaw and their families.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to any of the following: Faith Mission Home, 3540 Mission Home Lane, Free Union, VA 22940, Christ Church Parish, P.O. Box 476, Saluda, VA 23149, or The Garden Club of the Middle Peninsula, attn: Catherine Stanley, 279 Adams Lane, Aylett, VA 23009.
The family will receive friends and family at the Central Chapel of Bennett Funeral Home, 3215 Cutshaw Avenue, Richmond on Tuesday, Nov. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. A memorial service will be conducted at Ginter Park Presbyterian Church, 3601 Seminary Ave, Richmond, on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 1p.m., with a reception following.
