CROFFORD, Helen Lois

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ February 15, 2008 Helen Lois Crofford, a lifelong resident of Arizona, died Friday, Feb. 8, 2008, at the East Mesa Health Care Center in Mesa. Helen was born Sept. 1, 1932, in Mesa. At the age of 2, her family moved to McNary, where she developed a love for fishing, gardening and the natural beauties of Arizona. In 1942 her family returned to the Phoenix area. She received her high school education in Mesa. Following graduation she attended Lamson Business College in Phoenix majoring in accounting. In her professional career she worked in banking, for Bob Fisher Enterprises and, for 17 years prior to her retirement, at Northland Pioneer College in Holbrook. On Sept. 16, 1946, at the age of 14, Helen joined the Arizona Civil Air Patrol as a cadet. In her four years as a cadet she climbed the rank ladder from cadet basic to cadet captain. In 1953 she joined the senior squadron in Mesa. Helen remained active in Civil Air Patrol for 60 years, rising from the rank of cadet to lieutenant colonel. During her service with the Arizona Wing of the Civil Air Patrol she helped organize nine senior squadrons and three composite squadrons. In 1969 she became the first woman commander in the Arizona Wing when she was named commander of the Holbrook Squadron. On Dec. 19, 1971, she was named Group II commander of the Arizona Wing, the first woman group commander in Arizona. In 1985 Helen was appointed as the Arizona Wing's first wing historian, an appointment she held for 21 years. Helen loved flying, and she participated in numerous search-and-rescue missions. Her first mission was in 1948 as an observer with her father in their family aircraft. Later she was a pilot/observer on aircrews and a staff member of numerous ground crews. She earned her master observer wings in 1959. In 1962 Helen moved to her parent's farm in Woodruff where she assisted her parents with the family's farming enterprises. In 1970 she was elected to the Navajo County Natural Resource Conservation District Board of Supervisors. She was reelected to five additional terms as supervisor, serving in various positions for 36 years. In connection with her service to the conservation district, Helen was also a board member of the Little Colorado River Plateau Resource Conservation and Development Area, a member of the Arizona Association of Conservation Districts (AACD) and the National Association of Conservation Districts. In 1981 she was elected vice president of AACD, and in 1982 as president of AACD. Helen received numerous awards and recognitions for her dedication to conserving Arizona's natural resources. Helen had a keen interest in her family's history and spent years researching and identifying her ancestors. She was a champion of her community (Woodruff) where she lived for the final 45 years of her life. On Jan. 30, 1987, Helen and her mother, Lillian, were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Helen served as a visiting teacher and a visiting teaching supervisor in the Woodruff, Arizona Ward. Preceding her in death are her parents, Elmer Earl and Lillian Irene (Williams) Crofford, and her only brother, Virgil Ray. Funeral services were held Thursday, Feb. 14, in the Woodruff Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Helen was laid to rest next to her parents in the Woodruff Cemetery. Memorial contributions in Helen's name may be made to the Woodruff Community Library in Woodruff.