Edith Johnston Crook
March 21, 1947 – September 2, 2025
In The Care Of Leak Memory Chapel
Edith Johnston Crook, of Montgomery, Alabama, passed away on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at age 78. She was born on March 21, 1947, the youngest of four children, to Watkins and Edith Johnston.
Edith, known as "Sister" by her three loving older brothers, Watkins, Frank, and Ray Johnston, attended Sidney Lanier High School and then graduated from Hollins College in Virginia in 1969. After moving back to Montgomery, she married Union Springs native Charles McDowell Crook, to whom she was married for 35 years. She is survived by three children, Charles McDowell Crook, Jr., Caroline Johnston Crook, and James Watkins Crook, and by two grandchildren, Sylvia J. Crook-Vonschlichten and Connor Samuel Crook. Her dedicated and excellent caregivers were Debra Ann Spivey, Sherry Davis, and Andrea Howard.
Like her mother, Edith was a devoted member of the Church of the Ascension, serving on the Altar Guild and personally sewing several of the new kneelers after the church burned in 1984. She was very active in civic life, serving on the boards of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the Montgomery Symphony. An ardent supporter of historical preservation, Edith loved Old Alabama Town. She served on the board of the Landmarks Foundation for several years, working closely with her friend Mary Ann Neely, among many others.
Edith enjoyed reading, bridge, gardening, and tennis, but her true passion was traveling, which she did extensively. Whether touring the Arabian desert on camelback or climbing Machu Picchu on her 60th birthday, she couldn't wait to see what was around the next corner.
Edith was a good friend and accumulated a host of buddies, traveling companions, and "partners in crime" over her lifetime, all of whom she cherished. They share with her family the memories of her charm, wit, and spirit of adventure.
Pallbearers will be Brice Johnston, Frank Johnston, John Gage, Allen Crook, Watkins Johnston III, Connor Crook, and Sylvia J. Crook-Vonschlichten.
Visitation will be on Tuesday, September 9, at 9:00 am in the Ascension Hall of the Church of the Ascension, followed by a funeral service in the Fellowship Hall at 10:00 am. A private graveside service will be held at Greenwood Cemetery.
In place of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Church of the Ascension, 315 Clanton Ave, Montgomery, AL 36104. Leak-Memory Chapel Directing.