Gentle rain quenches the earth, nature wakes up from her winter sleep and we sprout into Spring with The Crews Family!
Billy and Catherine Crews are both Mississippi natives; Billy from Oxford and Catherine from Jackson, and they’ve lived most of their adult lives in Tupelo. For 32 years, Billy was the publisher for the Tupelo Daily Journal. After over 3 decades in one profession, he decided to “retire” and pursue another lifelong passion … public education! The Crews family moved to Oxford four years ago this very month sowing new seeds. An Ole Miss Alum, Billy accepted a position with the University of Mississippi as Education Development Director in 2015, fulfilling that dream. But shortly after the excitement of their new adventure and move to Oxford, Catherine was diagnosed with NUT Midline Carcinoma, an extremely rare form of cancer. With her diagnosis, she was told she had 3-6 months to live. She has undergone weeks of chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and radical surgery. Three years later, we are thankful to learn she is in recovery, and one of only three survivors of this aggressive cancer in the world. Catherine is an artist and a yoga instructor. A full time mother and grandmother she greets each day with a smile on her face and a heart filled with love. Their furry family has much to do with that too.
Both Pete and DJ’s stories begin at a shelter. A close friend of the Crews has an awesome hobby of visiting local animal shelters when she travels. She dropped into a shelter in Hattiesburg and met Pete, a little white and tan terrier mix. She saw a hopeful glimmer in his eyes that said, “Please take me with you” and without a thought she knew the perfect family for this little guy. She swooped him up and hit the road for Tupelo. To this day, Pete loves car rides…he knows good things lie at the end of that road. He loves rides so much that when he sees his family hop in the car without him, he tussles up the rug at the entrance door blocking it from opening. Clearly, he does this in protest but all is forgiven with one vanilla wafer apology from the family and snuggle time is back on.
DJ was the first feline member of the Crews family and filled their home with laughter. Like dad, he too was an Oxford native and like brother, he was adopted from the shelter. DJ loved playing peekaboo under the dining table and watching birds through the window. He was Pete’s little brother for twelve years, until one morning, last October, he took his regular morning stroll and never returned. It was not like him to venture far from home so the Crews family remained hopeful for weeks. They distributed flyers and Homeward Bound kept a constant eye out and helped spread the word via social media. He has not been found and it has been difficult to let him go, especially without closure. Please take a real close look at his picture…just in case…
We are thankful to have had the privilege to spend time with DJ and Pete and have the Crews as part of our extended Homeward Bound family. We dedicate this to Dj and all the joy and happiness he brought to the Crews family.