Perley Louise Crosier

Our talented and loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend Perley Louise Harrington Pry Crosier was reunited with her best friend, her husband Robert, on September 30, 2020. She lived 96 years. She was born at home to George and Lena Harrington on August 23, 1924 in Carthage, Illinois. She was the eighth of nine children and was the last survivor of that generation. Perley met Bob, while in church. On October 22 Robert and Perley were wed. Together they raised three children (Mike and Jon Crosier and Jennie Sprouse) and enjoyed them along with their grandchildren (Jona Titus, Ember Christensen, Jonathan and Joshua Crosier, Nicholas and Daniel Sprouse) and great-grandchildren (Nathan, Anne, and Seth Christiansen and Anastasia and J. Alex Crosier). As a stay at home mom, her family was everything to her. She lived the value of family first and said it many times. In her life prior to moving to Vancouver, Perley was an artist. She loved painting, crocheting, embroidery and gardening. Most of the art in her home were pictures she had created. She also created a picture of a pastor, head in his hands which hung on the podium at the First Baptist Church in Prosser for many years. She also donated a beautiful mosaic of Mary, Joseph and Jesus for the church. It looked like it was made from beautiful crushed tile but it was from egg shells. She was the state leader of the American Baptist Women Society and would travel visiting churches and sharing ideas of how to increase outreach to those in need of lifting up. She loved music and especially loved to sing and dance. She and her husband square danced and she sang in the church choir and in a barbershop quartet. She also played the guitar. You could tell when she was happy because you would catch her singing or tap dancing in the kitchen. She had a beautiful smile that made her eyes sparkle and a magical laugh. Her face would light up when a baby would come into the room. Watching her carefully reach out to them and speak with them, you knew she was absolutely thrilled to be in the presence of this precious little soul. She saw babies, birds, cats, horses, dogs and other animals through the eyes of awe and adoration. She ran Purrley's Cat House, a no-kill, no sell cat shelter. She did not let anyone count them but there were at least nine and she always had one in her lap. She enjoyed bowling at Valley Lanes in Sunnyside and won several awards. She thought the world of the people she played with. Bob and Perley loved being a part of the community and funded private loans for business to expand. A fall down her stairs brought her to Vancouver where she lived at Touchmark Assisted Living. She asked what am I doing here what am I supposed to do now. We let her know her mission was the same as always to bless people and love God. She took that to heart. She attended church within the walls of Touchmark and a Bible Study. Although she didn't always understand the service, she loved the old hymns and would sing her way back to her room. In her last years she remembered only the good and saw only the good in people. She remembered no wrongs and no hurts. When I would talk to her about surviving cancer she had no recollection of that either. She didn't remember losing her son, Michael in 2016 or the babies she had lost at birth in the 1940s. She said she never had an argument with anyone including her husband. She loved friends and family so much it brought tears to her eyes and had pictures of them all in her apartment. She always did Christmas very well as her grandchildren can attest to. At Touchmark she was Mrs. Claus at Christmas. She loved getting dressed up and handed out candy canes. She had a beautiful tree in her room full of strings of pearls for Perley. In her last days residents and staff even those off duty, came in to see her. They called her Squirley Perley. They would say in the morning, Squirelly Perley, why are you up so early. And she would say "Get up you lazy sinner, we need the sheets for a table cloth it's almost time for dinner." She had cute little sayings that would make people smile. She was always grateful, kind and told everyone she loved them. Although it was a life with a little demensia it was a beautiful life in it's purest form. We want to thank the kind people at Touchmark for making our mother's life so beautiful. Their kind and loving care of her made a difference in all of our lives. In the end she had everything she wanted all her life. To be surrounded by good friends and people who cared about her, coffee that she did not have to make, flowers given to her for no reason at all, a clean house, never having to eat alone again. Perley's celebration of life will be on October 24 at 11 am at Prosser Funeral Home,1220 Sheridan Ave., Prosser, WA. To comply with COVID requirements masks and hand sanitizer are required. The service will be in the lawn outside the funeral home, weather permitting or inside if the weather warrants. Graveside services will be October 25 at 11 am at Pleasant Prairie Cemetery, 9303 E Morgan Road, Spokane, WA

Perley Louise Crosier

August 23, 1924 - September 30, 2020