Obituary of Colonel Edwin "Ned" Crowell

Colonel Edwin “Ned” Crowell, (U.S. Army Ret.), 86, of Montgomery Township died peacefully on Friday, January 8, 2021 at Stonebridge @ Montgomery. Ned was born in Elizabeth New Jersey and was the oldest child of Louise and Eddie Crowell. He attended Saint Benedict’s Prep in Newark NJ, paying his own tuition by working as a soda jerk in a local pharmacy. As the first member of his family to attend college, he continued his education at Seton Hall University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. In May of 1958, he married Carol Ann Donahue of Elizabeth, and set out to build a lifetime of memories with his best friend and love of his life. Carol and Ned moved out of New Jersey shortly after their wedding to live in Richmond Virginia, where Ned worked his first job as a chemist at the Phillip Morris Company. While working full time, he earned a Master’s Degree in Chemistry at the University of Richmond. It was in Virginia that they started their family with the birth of their first three children – Patricia, Susan and Paul. After earning his Master’s degree, the Crowell family headed back to New Jersey and settled in Pennington NJ where he and Carol would live for over 50 years. In New Jersey, the Crowell family continued to grow with the addition of three more children – Karen, Christopher and finally Anne-Marie. After a brief time at American Cyanamid, Ned eventually moved to Union Camp in Lawrenceville where he would spend the rest of his career, retiring in 1997 after 33 years of service.One of the most important achievements of Ned’s life was working alongside his wife to put all six of his children through college. This amazing gift of a college education allowed each of his children to launch into the working world free of college debt. Another important achievement in Ned’s life was rising to the level of Colonel in the Army. He became a commissioned officer during college, to help fund his own college education, and was honorably discharged in 1994. Ned was a humble man who served his community and his church in many ways. Ned served on the Hopewell Valley Board of Education and the Pennington Volunteer Fire Department. He participated in the food delivery programs at Sacred Heart Church and the Martin House in Trenton. On multiple occasions, Ned participated in Appalachian Service projects with his youngest daughter. Ned was a parishioner of The Church of Saint Ann in Lawrence NJ for many years. Ned enjoyed traveling with Carol. They visited every state in the United States and many countries around the world including Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Iceland and most of Europe. Ned and Carol were avid fans of Seton Hall’s men’s basketball team, and often traveled with the Pirate Blue Booster Club to away games to support the team. But the travel that Ned enjoyed the most was the trips that included his children and grandchildren, including many wonderful family vacations in Isle of Palms SC. Ned is survived by his wife of 62 years Carol, his six children and their spouses; Patricia Begrowicz, Susan Clifton (husband Thomas), Paul Crowell (wife Gianine), Karen Casey, Christopher Crowell (wife Jeanne) and Anne-Marie Campbell. He is also survived by his 16 grandchildren – Andrew, Christopher, and Matthew Begrowicz; Michael, Natalie, David, and Anna Clifton; Ryan and Amanda Crowell; Tom and Kate Casey; Ian, Brian and Kathleen Crowell; and Grace and Adeline Campbell – and one great granddaughter, Isabella Begrowicz. Lois Crowell, Ned’s sister, also survives. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 11:30 AM in the Church of St. Ann, 1253 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Burial with military honors will follow in Washington Crossing National Veterans Cemetery, Newtown, PA. There will be no visitation prior to mass. Masks are required to be worn and social distancing and building capacity will be enforced. Memorial contributions to honor Ned may be made to the Edwin and Carol Endowed Scholarship at Seton Hall University. Checks should be made out to Seton Hall University with the memo indicating the gift is for the Edwin and Carol Endowed Scholarship and mailed to Seton Hall University, Division of University Advancement, 457 Centre Street, South Orange, NJ 07079.