NAOMI ‘NAN’ WEST

CROWDER LEBANON, Conn. – Naomi “Nan” West Crowder, 88, died of congestive heart failure Friday, March 3, 2006. Nan was born Aug. 25, 1917, in Lowell, Mass., the daughter of the late Clive and Vivian Cunningham Blake. She moved with her family to Skowhegan where she graduated from high school in 1935. After completing secretarial school at Husson, Nan married William Francis West Jr. of Bangor in 1942. The family moved to Lebanon in 1959, where Nan worked for the Girl Scouts at Camp Laurel. In the mid-60’s and 70’s, Nan was secretary to the dean of music at the University of Connecticut, where she met and married Louis L. Crowder. Nan and Louis spent more than 20 years traveling between their two homes in Pollensa, Mallorca, Spain and Lebanon, Conn. Nan was a cherished member of the First Congregational Church and enjoyed being involved in political and social causes in the community. She enjoyed engaging in lively discussions about politics. Nan cared about people and loved to solve problems. She was a generous woman and her greatest joy was sharing her time, hospitality and money. Nan was predeceased by her brothers and sister, Raymond Robert, Clive Douglas and Barbara Blake; her husband, Louis; and stepson, Robert; grandson, William Gregory West; and her beloved son, David West. She is survived by her children, William West of Penns Grove, N.J., Susan West and Clive West and his wife, Cynthia, of Lebanon; and step son, David Crowder; her sister, Ruth McLellan of Port Lucie, Fla.; her sisters-in-law, Dorothy Blake of Windham Center, Conn., and Margaret Blake of Dover, Del.; cousins, Doris Stantial of Wilmington, Mass. and Mary Coombs of Boothbay Harbor; and numerous nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family will meet relatives and friends 12:15 p.m. Sunday, March 19, at the Lebanon First Congregational Church to remember her remarkable life. Donations in her memory may be made to the American Cancer Society.