Bio, 2009: Nancy Irwin Crenshaw
You may remember me as the girl with the violin. “George” (the violin) and I stayed together through my BS degree in 1968 from OSU in Radio/TV/Film, but he eventually moved on to one of my nieces (George really belonged to her dad anyway).
I met my husband, Jerry Crenshaw, Class of ’59 at the then student-operated KOSU FM Radio studios and we were married in 1968, celebrating our 41st anniversary this June. Our only child, Rob, lives in Portland, Oregon where he works in the development department of a non-profit organization, and he and his partner, Cory, are currently novices in the ranks of Portland’s backyard chicken-raising craze. Who knew?
Jerry and I have always lived in Stillwater, but I guess you could say I’ve had a varied career. I never did really use that R/TV degree, but I did work in the journalism field as assistant editor of OSU’s alumni magazine. Raising Rob full time was more attractive than part-time work, until he was in school all day and I took a job at the Stillwater NewsPress in the front office, eventually working as assistant manager of the classified advertising department.
Working in classifieds is a great place to be the first to know of a great deal on a vehicle, lost or found pet, etc., and when I took an ad for an office manager position for 2 campus ministries, I knew it was time to move on. I worked in campus ministry for 11 years, until a financial crisis in the one I was now Coordinator for sent me back to the drawing board. I had a heart-to-heart with myself, asking “What do you want to be when you grow up?” (this was in 1999) and the answer came out of years of volunteer teaching and directing children’s choirs and handbells at church: “A Church Musician.” (No longer had that violin, but I still had music!)
So, in 2000, I enrolled in a “design your own degree” program at St Gregory’s University in Shawnee (it was a Catholic boy’s prep school when we were in high school). I had classes in Shawnee and freshman music theory classes at OSU, which turned out to be a blast. Sitting in class with 50 18-year-olds at age 54 is such a hoot! After finishing that degree in 2003, I have continued to direct the Handbell Choir (JuBELLation) at my home church here in Stillwater, as well as serving 2 other churches (at different times) in neighboring towns as Choir Director and Minister of Music. Oh, and I’m still working half-time for the OSU professor whose job made it possible for me to go back to college 9 years ago.
Otherwise, Jerry and I are retired, except that he is pastor of the tiny Christian Church in Braman (5 miles this side of Kansas), having earned his Master of Divinity in 2000. He spent many years prior to that in newspaper advertising.
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion!
©2009 Stillwater High School Class of 1964