Read This - It'll make you proud

[MK]

It won't let me see the article. It takes me to a sign up page. Could you repost it?

 

[MDFrench]

Eagle Scout gives mom final reason to be proud

By JINGLE DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/18/04

Glenda Crowe was determined to see her youngest son get his Eagle Scout award.

"She helped me every way she could," said Bobby Crowe, an 18-year-old honor student at Tri-Cities High School in East Point.

Glenda Crowe lobbied Scout officials to make sure money was available for his troop's camping trips. She "lit a fire under me to get my merit badges," Bobby Crowe said Monday.

For eight months, she often rose before dawn to accompany him on trips to clean an East Point cemetery, the Eagle Scout project he completed in May.

The Eagle Court of Honor was conducted Friday night at Glenda Crowe's bedside in Union City's Christian City Hospice. After Bobby Crowe received his coveted award, he pinned the "mother's medal" on her favorite stuffed elephant and placed it in her arms.

Hours later, the medal clutched in her hand, Glenda Crowe died of cancer.

For eight years, she had fought the disease and to keep Boy Scout Troop 1070 up and running in an economically depressed East Point neighborhood, where finding leaders and participants isn't easy, said Daniel Hudson, a longtime family friend and Scout leader.

The former Piedmont Hospital nurse encouraged her son when he chose his ambitious project. "It's a very big, very old cemetery that was overgrown with brush," Hudson said. "In size and scope, the project was the equivalent of about 10 Eagle Scout projects."

Bobby Crowe organized numerous cleanups at the 30-acre Hillcrest Cemetery, recruiting everyone he could to help clear brush, saw tree limbs and remove debris.

"We took it step by step," he said. "My mom and I would get up at 5:30 a.m. to get doughnuts at Krispy Kreme for everybody. She was there every time we had a project."

Meanwhile, life became more difficult at home.

Bobby's father, James "Mike" Crowe, a former trucker, went blind last year from diabetes complications. Glenda Crowe's cancer spread, making it impossible for her to continue working. His older brother, James "J.J." Crowe Jr., moved home to help care for his parents.

Bobby Crowe was scheduled to get his Eagle award, Scouting's highest honor, later this year, but his mother's illness dictated a more urgent time frame.

Hudson and other Scout leaders hastily arranged Friday's ceremony. Bobby's father, grandfather and brother were accompanied by family friends.

A Cub Scout pack gave the Pledge of Allegiance, and Bobby was escorted into his mother's room by an honor guard. There he took the Eagle Scout Charge to give back to his community and to be a good citizen. He gave a brief speech, thanking all who helped him achieve his goal, especially his mother.

"After the ceremony was over, everybody stepped out of the room, and I called Mom's name and asked her if she saw me get the Eagle Scout medal. She said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Then you can rest now.' She smiled and closed her eyes. I think that's what she's been holding on for."

Glenda Crowe died at 5:45 a.m. Saturday.

Now Bobby Crowe is looking for a job to help with his family's finances; when he turned 18, he lost the Social Security benefits he received because of his father's disability.

Glenda Crowe's funeral is 3 p.m. Wednesday at Holly Hill Cemetery in Fairburn. "I'm happy she got to see everything because she was as big a part of it as I was," Bobby Crowe said. "She'll be laid to rest in a Boy Scout uniform we got for her this Saturday."

 

[jamespowers]

You should have warned me to have a box of Kleenex ready.
That is quite a story and the parents are really quite remarkable individuals. I hope his life gets easier in the long run.

Regards,

J

 

[Feraud]

My son is a Weblos and will one day be an Eagle Scout. This is a great reminder for why we as parents makes these sacrifices.

Thanks for that article.