Obituary of Clarita DeVaughn Crownover

Clarita DeVaugn Crownover, 79, of Springfield, passed away March 3^rd, 2023. Born in Parkersburg, WV, June 19^th, 1943, Clarita was the first child of the late Clarence R. and Rita Winifred Dye Sharpes.

The military career of Clarita’s father created frequent relocations, including New York, Massachusetts, Kansas, West Virginia, New Mexico, Ohio, and Japan. During this time Clarita was an active Girl Scout, developed a love for cooking, and expressed her creativity by making ceramics for her home and as gifts. 

She met her husband, Doyle Crownover, in Japan and married him three times – first by a Japanese Justice of the Peace, then at the American Embassy in Tokyo, and, the next day, at the Tachikawa West Air Base Chapel. After the birth of her first daughter, Ellen Marie, the Air Force took Clarita’s family to Florida, where her second daughter, Rose, and son, Doyle, Jr., were born. Clarita then waited with her kids in Oregon until her husband returned from Vietnam. Next was her favorite duty station at RAF Mildenhall, northeast of London, England. After being posted to Wyoming, the family returned to England at RAF Alconbury. Their final duty station was along the Atlantic Coast, at Cape Charles, Virginia. While an Air Force wife, Clarita often knew more about what was happening on base than her husband. 

Upon her husband’s retirement and move to Oregon, Clarita enjoyed camping, antique shops, and visiting the Oregon coast, strolling on the beach and eating at fish and chips restaurants. The couple also lived in New Mexico for a time where Clarita volunteered at an outreach center helping homeless veterans. She also enjoyed watching the local AAA baseball games with her husband.

Clarita was a member of the Albuquerque Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, the Order of the Eastern Star and the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, James Wood Chapter.

Clarita is survived by her husband of 61 years, Doyle, Sr., her children, Ellen Marie, Rose DeVaugn, and Doyle, Jr., seven grandchildren, five great grandchildren and her sister, Rose James, and brother, Daniel Sharpes.

Clarita was preceded in death by her father, Clarence R. Sharpes, Sr., in 1974, brother, Clarence R. Sharpes, Jr. in 2006, and mother, Rita W. Sharpes, in 2016. She will be interred at the Lane Memorial Cemetery.