Obituary

Thomas “Jeff” Crouch passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 29^th, 2024.  Jeff was born at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas on August 16, 1941. He was raised as an Air Force brat by his parents, Major General Thomas H. and Alfreda (King) Crouch, along with his younger brother Jim and sister Mary Lynn. Some of his fondest memories were of living in the Philippines as a young boy, and going to high school in Wiesbaden, Germany, where he played soccer and was a summer counselor at the International Ranger Camp in Montreux/Glion, Switzerland. He graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1964 where he was very active in the ROTC and joined the Air Force that same year.

Jeff was stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS and lived in a beach-front apartment. When a fourth person was needed for a game of bridge, he met the love of his life, Celeste Savell, who was living in the same apartment building. From 1967-1968, Jeff served the Third Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group in Vietnam, for which he received the Bronze Star.  Upon return from the war, he and Celeste married in 1969 and lived in Mississippi, Illinois, Utah, and Colorado before settling in Litchfield Park, AZ in 1975.

Jeff was extremely intelligent, qualifying as a Mensa member, and receiving an MBA from the University of Northern Colorado in 1978. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1979, having achieved the rank of Major, and pursued a career in Human Resources for Honeywell. He shortly after moved on to the emerging field of computers. He had his own start-up and worked in website security for American Express. Before retirement, he served the VA, helping veterans to identify benefits and services. He was deeply proud to support his fellow veterans and greatly valued his time there.

Jeff was married to Celeste for 55 years and was an incredible father to Kelly, Sherry, and Tommy. He was a gentle soul who spent his time reading, coaching youth soccer, fixing and building various things including computers, cooking, and watching sci-fi and nature shows. He loved the numerous dogs that lived in the Crouch house and simply sitting and watching the birds in the back yard. He is survived by his wife Celeste; sister Mary Lynn Spangler; daughter Kelly, son-in-law Mark Mazzola, and granddaughters Carina and Eva; and daughter Sherry Crouch and Kevin McCormick.

Services will be held on April 9^th, 2024, at the St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Avondale, AZ. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Arizona Disabled Veteran’s Association https://advf.org.