Brig. General (Retired) John Sherman Crow passed away peacefully after a brief battle with cancer. He was 87 years old.
He loved to tell the story of his extraordinary life. 'As I go through life and tell of my family of 14 children, 31 grandchildren, and 36 great grandchildren, people are in awe. I readily tell them of my Crow children, my Sims Crow children, my Jones Crow children, and my Beard Crow children. And, what I tell them is that the greatest blessing of my life is the love and respect given to me by each and every one of them. I have no words that appropriately describe the depth of love I have for each of you except to say, Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives.'
He was preceded in death by his mother, Louise Townsend, his father, Robbie Crow, his first wife, Dinky Flanagan, his third wife, Pat Sims, and his fourth wife, Frances Jones, his sister, Brenda Crow Hobson, his daughter, Becky Jones LeBlanc (Mike) and son, Dr. John Johnston Jones, Jr. (Frankie).
He is survived by his wife Virginia Beard, daughters: Lisa Crow, Linny Crow, Marcia Sims Solis (Tony), Melanie Sims Crowson (Neville), Lydia Jones Goul (Danny), Wendy Jones Murrian (Todd), Frances Jones Roman (Roger) and Susan Beard Calhoun (Jesse), sons: Chris Sims (Michelle), Ben Jones (Mollie), Tim Jones, and Bret Beard (Marla), 31 grandchildren, and 36 great grandchildren.
John Sherman had a long and exciting military career in the U.S. Army highlighted by his command of the 11th Armored Calvary Regiment, 'Blackhorse Regiment', in Fulda, Germany. One of his devoted Blackhorse Regiment soldiers, Greg Hallmark, created and maintains a website in his honor and now in his memory. His website may be assessed at johnshermancrow. com.
He seldom spoke of his Army exploits but often spoke of his love and respectofthethousands of young men he was honored to serve with in his beloved Blackhorse Regiment Family as their 49th Colonel. General Crow was the 2012 recipient of the Order of Saint George Gold Medallion, Cavalry and Armor's most prestigious award. He is a decorated combat veteran with multiple combat tours in Vietnam. Many will remember then Colonel Crow in a 1980 CBS '60 Minutes' interview with Mike Wallace while he commanded the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse) in Fulda, Germany.
He wished to offer a special thanks to Dr. Daly, Dr. Hollier, Dr. Musa, and Dr. Cataldo for their care and professional attention during his illness.
A service of Christian burial will be said with interment to follow on June 1, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. at Christ Church Cemetery in Bastrop, Louisiana.
Honorary pallbearers are Joe Sutton, Glenn Snodgrass, Bill Hutton, Jerry Weyland, Dale Lawless, Bobby Bell, Steve Rippe, Joe Eszes, Dan Monahan, John Stephens, Dave Cowan, Doc Bahnsen, Scott Tuck, Wes Walters, John Rosenberger, Tom Milliken, Jerry Johns, Greg Hallmark, and Mark Newcomb. Services are under the direction of Cox Funeral Home of Bastrop, Louisiana. www. coxfuneral.com In lieu of flowers, consider donations to The BG John Sherman Crow scholarship fund of The Blackhorse Association at www. blackhorse.org.
