Alan L. Crews

Lt. Col. Alan Linn Crews, USAF (Ret) September 4, 1945 – February 5, 2025

Alan Linn Crews died peacefully at home with his family around him on February 5, 2025, at the age of 79. Alan was born on September 4, 1945, to Charles and Helen Crews, in Bartlesville, OK and spent much of his childhood at the family’s lake home on the Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees. He attended the University of Nebraska and graduated in June 1967. He was commissioned into the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant later that same day.

Alan married Claudia Mears in 1967, and they began their life of service and adventure together. During the first ten years of marriage, they welcomed their first three children. Alan and Claudia traveled the world with the Air Force enjoying various assignments, including Germany and England (as an Exchange Officer with the British Royal Air Force). Alan served in both Korea and Vietnam and spent his career in Transportation and Logistics operations and management, Air Force contingency and war planning, and in joint-services assignments. Their fourth child was born 18 years into their marriage, just before they moved to Alaska. In 1993, after 26 years in the Air Force, Alan celebrated his first retirement from active duty. Two years later, he began a new active-duty assignment as a senior aerospace science instructor in the Air Force Junior ROTC program at Illinois Valley High School in Cave Junction, OR. The family settled in Grants Pass, OR, where their roots now run deep. Alan proudly served a total of 34 years in the US Air Force. Following his time with the JR ROTC program, he served as Vice Principal at North Valley High School. After his retirement from Three Rivers School District, he worked as the business manager for his church, St. Anne Catholic Church, in Grants Pass. During his retirement, he was committed to serving veterans in the Grants Pass community.

Alan will be remembered for his love of country, complete dedication to any job he served in, and most of all, as a loving husband, father, and grandfather. His pride in his family was always evident, and his faith was steadfast. He was precise in all he did with an unwavering sense of honor and dignity, and his quiet respectfulness and keen sense of humor made everyone around him feel loved and at ease.

Alan is survived by his wife, Claudia Crews; children, Brendt (Ester) Crews of Bakersfield, CA, Meghan (Matthew) Tousley of Grants Pass, OR, Courtney (Joel) Everard of Anchorage, AK, and Brandon (Ashley) Crews of Grants Pass, OR; grandchildren, Monica Villanueva and Hunter Crews, Brendan, Laura, Katelynn, and Luke Tousley, Kateri, Vincent, Nadya, and Darien Everard, and Adelaide, Isla, Alida, and Kieran Crews; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Helen Crews, and his sister, Sharon Lynch.

A viewing will be held at Hull & Hull Funeral Home on Thursday, February 27th, at 10 am. A funeral mass will be celebrated later that day, Thursday, February 27th, at 2 pm at St. Anne Catholic Church with a Rosary beginning at 1:15 pm. Burial with military honors will take place on Friday, February 28th, at 1 pm, at Eagle Point National Cemetery.

So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. -Romans 14:8

Please share a memory of Alan on his Guestbook below.