Major Elsie Crawford

Major Elsie Crawford

Major Elsie Crawford recently retired from active service as a Salvation Army officer, after serving well and faithfully for the past 38 years in various appointments and territories.

Elsie’s home corps was Anderston Citadel in Glasgow, Scotland, and she first felt called to officership when she was 10 years old. Later, while working at territorial headquarters in Scotland, she met her future husband, Robert, and they wed in 1961. They entered the International Training College in Denmark Hill, London in 1966 and were commissioned in 1968 with the Messengers of Faith Session.

After several appointments in England, they were sent to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, where Robert was killed in an accident.

Elsie carried on, raising her three children and serving as a full-time officer. Subsequent appointments took her back to England and Scotland, including service as assistant to Mrs. Chief of the Staff at International Headquarters. Her U. S. assignments were as chaplain at the ARC in Providence, Rhode Island, and her last appointment as administrator at the Escondido, California Silvercrest.

A retirement celebration was held at the Escondido Corps, adjacent to the Silvercrest where she served for the last three years, with Captain Derek Strickland leading the meeting and Lt. Colonel Doug O’Brien presenting the official retirement certificate and delivering the message.

Two of Elsie’s children, Dorothy and Deborah, live in England, while her son Andrew lives in Arizona. She has 10 grandchildren.

In retirement, she will reside at 1951 N. 64th Street #10, Mesa, AZ 85205-3619.