1925
Malora
2015
Malora Torrence Crowe
September 11, 1925 — February 8, 2015
Malora “Lora Bell”Torrence Crowe, better known as Granny to nearly everyone who knew her, passed away Feb. 8 at her house in Brandon. Now she is at home. She was 89.
Granny loved God, family and church, and regularly put the needs of others above her own. In her last days, she was at peace. She lived her life preparing.
Born to Mack David Whitley and Ora Bethune Whitley in the Langford community on Sept. 11, 1925, Granny spent nearly all of her life in Rankin County, where she raised six children and was a loving and Christian influence to her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Throughout her life, Granny only lived away from Rankin County for about three years, which she spent in Oregon working on the construction of ships as part of the United States’ effort to prepare for World War II.
She married Gilbert Torrence when she was 17, and they remained together until his death, raising two sons and four daughters. She was married to Lawrence Crowe from 1998 until his death in 2009.
Granny was a lifelong member of Oakdale Baptist Church, which was founded by her maternal grandfather in 1888. She loved the church and its members and was church historian and a Sunday School Teacher for 50 years. For years, until declining health limited her mobility, she served on the committee that oversees the Oakdale Cemetery where she will be buried among loved ones who passed before her. Granny worked at Rankin General Hospital for 19 years and Dr. Douglas Gorman for 20 years.
Granny loved the poem, “Footprints in the Sand,” about a person who dreams of walking with God, but asks the Lord why there are only one set of footprints at the most difficult times in life. “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you,” the poem goes.
Granny never walked alone, and she wanted everyone to walk with God.
Granny liked to quote John 3:16, perhaps because she loved the verse, but more likely because others need to hear it: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
She was preceded in death by husbands Gilbert Torrence and Larry Crowe; sons Mala Gilbert Torrence and William Ray Torrence; and grandchildren, Buzz “Bo” Breazeale, Torrence Burke and Melanie Mohr. Survivors include Betty Mohr and husband, Dr. John Mohr of Brandon, Polly Reid and husband, Sam of Atlanta, Tina Bowering and husband, Butch of Brandon, Janis Reiner and husband, David of Brandon, and 26 grandchildren,41 great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; sister, Edith Minnis of Brandon; step-son, Bob Crowe of Clinton and a number of nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be made to Oakdale Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, 1872 Hwy 471, Brandon, MS 39047.
Granny loved God, family and church, and regularly put the needs of others above her own. In her last days, she was at peace. She lived her life preparing.
Born to Mack David Whitley and Ora Bethune Whitley in the Langford community on Sept. 11, 1925, Granny spent nearly all of her life in Rankin County, where she raised six children and was a loving and Christian influence to her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Throughout her life, Granny only lived away from Rankin County for about three years, which she spent in Oregon working on the construction of ships as part of the United States’ effort to prepare for World War II.
She married Gilbert Torrence when she was 17, and they remained together until his death, raising two sons and four daughters. She was married to Lawrence Crowe from 1998 until his death in 2009.
Granny was a lifelong member of Oakdale Baptist Church, which was founded by her maternal grandfather in 1888. She loved the church and its members and was church historian and a Sunday School Teacher for 50 years. For years, until declining health limited her mobility, she served on the committee that oversees the Oakdale Cemetery where she will be buried among loved ones who passed before her. Granny worked at Rankin General Hospital for 19 years and Dr. Douglas Gorman for 20 years.
Granny loved the poem, “Footprints in the Sand,” about a person who dreams of walking with God, but asks the Lord why there are only one set of footprints at the most difficult times in life. “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you,” the poem goes.
Granny never walked alone, and she wanted everyone to walk with God.
Granny liked to quote John 3:16, perhaps because she loved the verse, but more likely because others need to hear it: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
She was preceded in death by husbands Gilbert Torrence and Larry Crowe; sons Mala Gilbert Torrence and William Ray Torrence; and grandchildren, Buzz “Bo” Breazeale, Torrence Burke and Melanie Mohr. Survivors include Betty Mohr and husband, Dr. John Mohr of Brandon, Polly Reid and husband, Sam of Atlanta, Tina Bowering and husband, Butch of Brandon, Janis Reiner and husband, David of Brandon, and 26 grandchildren,41 great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; sister, Edith Minnis of Brandon; step-son, Bob Crowe of Clinton and a number of nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be made to Oakdale Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, 1872 Hwy 471, Brandon, MS 39047.
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