ROSA FLETCHER CROCKER

SYKESVILLE, MD – Rosa Tucker Fletcher Crocker, 96, an arts education advocate and longtime resident of Harford County, Maryland, died peacefully September 20, 2017 at Fairhaven. Rosa F. Crocker was born in Lexington, Va., to Forest Fletcher and Laura Powell Tucker Fletcher. Her Olympic athlete father was athletic director and track coach at Washington & Lee University, and her mother founded a rural Appalachian children’s clinic. In 1945 Rosa Fletcher Crocker married Michael Pue Crocker. Her husband preceded her in death, but she is survived by their three children - Forest Fletcher Crocker, Stillwater, Minn; Berthenia Stansbury Crocker (Geoffrey O’Gara), Lander, Wyo; and Rosa Tucker Crocker (Jonathan Monroe), Huntly, VA; seven grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. Mrs. Crocker graduated from Lexington High School, Virginia; Abbott Academy, Andover, Mass.; and Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., as a history major. Mrs. Crocker was a founder of the School Concerts Committee of Harford County, an innovative non-profit that sponsored performing and teaching artists in Harford County’s public, private and parochial schools for over 35 years. The all-volunteer group introduced thousands of students to international dance, theater and music, with artists often hosted at the family home, Woodview. A Harford County school music supervisor remarked that without Mrs. Crocker’s efforts there would have been “such a cultural void for our children.” During World War II, she was an Air Force Air Transport communications clerk, and served as American Red Cross recreation worker assisting wounded soldiers. She recalled appearing in a production for servicemen with comedian Red Skelton as a highlight of this period. Her time volunteering at Camp Roberts, California received national attention in 2011 when a letter postmarked in 1944, addressed to R. T. Fletcher, her maiden name, was delivered 67 years after being penned by her brother as she coordinated entertainment for the camp’s hospital. When national media picked up the story of the unpunctual letter, as a lifelong correspondent who never discarded a letter received, Mrs. Crocker had ample evidence that she was the intended recipient. Together with devotion to arts education, Mrs. Crocker taught piano, and was a founder and active member of the Harford Choral Society. She served with the Women of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Emmorton, and the interdenominational group FISH (Friends in Serving Humanity), helping families in need. She supported the Susquehannock Environmental Center, enjoyed her Book Club, belonged to the League of Women Voters, and was named a Harford County Living Treasure. She made Woodview, the Crocker family home, a welcoming hostel to scores of school performers, friends, family and international visitors, often for extended stays. Mrs. Crocker loved to swim, ride horseback, and travel. She corresponded faithfully with friends and family worldwide, never tossed a letter, nor failed to correct grammatical error as her grandchildren will attest, yet her admonitions were often ironical, and always gentle. In lieu of flowers, the family invites freewill donations to a local charity of choice honoring any of Mrs. Crocker’s many interests. In the Rappahannock community, these include the Benevolent Fund, or scholarships administered by Headwaters (Next Step), Mountain Vista Governor’s School Foundation, Lord Fairfax Community College Educational Foundation, or the The Child Care and Learning Center (CCLC).