Crothers, John Malcolm

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Former TSU official John Crothers dies…. He advocated using church to give the homeless shelter.

John Malcolm Crothers, seventy-five, a former Tennessee State University vice president and educator for forty-six years, died Sunday after an extended illness. Friends say he was a bear of a man, standing more than six feet tall, but was also gentle with a caring heart.

He was particularly fond of the University of Tennessee and all but dragged Jim Thomas, now Dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies at Lipscomb University, to pursue doctoral work at the Knoxville university. Crothers encouraged Thomas, gave him recommendations, and carried him to football games. “John was a large man in physical stature, as well as in character,” Thomas said yesterday.

Mr. Crothers’ gentleness also was known by those who attended Otter Creek Church of Christ, where he was a longtime elder. When Nashville wasn’t sure what to do about the homeless, Crothers was one of many who said churches should open their doors.

“He didn’t worry near as much about externals. A lot of church people do,” said Tom Ingram, who also attended Otter Creek. “He took people where they were, who they were, and cared about them.”

Mr. Crothers graduated from Lipscomb University, then a junior college, in 1943, before earning a certificate in basic engineering from Rutgers University in 1944. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and a doctorate in education in administration and industrial personnel management from the University of Tennessee in 1965.

A World War II veteran, he began his education career in Memphis as a teacher at Fairview Junior High School. He later moved through the education ranks as a principal and then onto higher education.

He became vice president of continuing education at Tennessee State in 1979. Two years later, he became the first director of High Technology Development for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. He served the organization until his retirement in 1990.

Visitation will be 1-4 pm and 6-9 pm today in Woodlawn Funeral Home. Services will be at 12:30 pm Wednesday in Otter Creek Church of Christ. A memorial service will be in White Station Church of Christ in Memphis at 1pm Saturday.

Survivors include his wife, Eva Cope Crothers, Nashville; a daughter, Claudia Efird of Memphis; two sons, John L., Brentwood, and James C. Crothers, Nashville; a brother, Granville L. Crothers of Phoenix; a sister, Marcia Corley of Nashville; and seven grandchildren.

The family asked that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort, Inc., Lindsley Avenue Day Care Center, or the Encouragement Ministry.

Additional information in an earlier obituary included the following:

John was son of the late Howey S. and Marcia Lipscomb Crothers and was preceded in death by a brother, Howey M. Crothers. Grandchildren include Watt, Hayley, and Tyler Efird; Jamie, Jenny, and Julie Crothers. Garrett Clay Crothers.

Funeral services will be conducted 12:30 pm Wednesday at Otter Creek Church of Christ, with Bud Arnold, Clarence Dailey, and John York officiating. Interment Middle Tennessee State Veterans cemetery. Family and friends will serve as pallbearers.

Celebration of the Life of John Malcolm Crothers, October 22. 1924-March 5, 2000

Coordinated by Buddy Arnold, the service included a responsive reading from Ephesians; Nan Gurley’s singing of “Jesus, Lover of My Soul”; comments by John York, Jim Thomas, and Clarence Dailey; congregational singing with Brandon Thomas; and the following poems.

Just bid me home,

Lord, when Thou seest that my work is done,

And I will come

Let me not linger on,

Right gladly, -- Yea, right gladly

With failing powers, Adown the weary hours, A workless worker in a world of work.

Will I come. John Oxenham, 1852-1941

But, with a word,

No funeral gloom my dears, when I am gone, Corpse-gazing, tears, black raiment, graveyard grimness.

Think of me as withdrawn into the dimness, Yours still, you

mine. Remember all the best of our past moments

And forget the rest, And so to where I wait come gently on.

–Ellen Terry, 1847-1928

Tribute to John Crothers by Tommy Daniel, read by Bud Arnold at John Crothers’ funeral

At first it might seem odd that I would consider John Crothers such a close friend—My Best Friend. We are different in many ways—not really the same age—and we didn’t grow up in the same town or anything like that. But over the last twenty years I’ve come to know and appreciate him as “the Best Friend I’ve ever had.”

I’d like to say that this friendship and love we shared was because of me. But I’ve learned over the years that it was mostly because of his Big Christian Heart. He always initiated. He always called. He always reached out. He always showed he cared. He never gave up or quit. Scripture says that “to be a friend you must show yourself friendly…and there is a friend that is closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24). For me, those passages always made me think of our dear Lord. They still do. But, I have had the good fortune of experiencing them on a personal level ministered to me regularly through my years of association with John Crothers.

He faithfully and consistently reached out in love and encouragement, in wisdom and instruction, in time and attention for me. Don’t misunderstand me. John Crothers was just a man. He had his rough-around-the-edges moments, as we all do. But somehow, by the grace of God, he showed me the heart of God. He was my friend and mentor—a true shepherd and teacher. A man who loved the church and God’s work among men. And I loved that about him. In all these things (and more), Jesus used him to show me a little of Himself and to call me to higher ground.

Personally, selfishly, I grieve over the loss of my best friend. But I celebrate his victory in Jesus and I know Jesus is “not ashamed to call him brother!” (Hebrews 2:11) Me neither!

“Go Rest High Upon that Mountain—Son, Your Work on Earth is done! Go to Heaven a Shoutin’! Look for the Father and the Son1”

Comments by Sandra Collins…Since no one mentioned his great sense of humor and quick wit, I will. Once when

asked what a person needed to teach at the OC kindergarten, John replied, “A tetanus shot.” When I applied to teach at Lipscomb, the reference sheet he had to fill out asked, “Can the applicant preach, lead songs, pray publicly?” or something to that effect, under the assumption the responder would know the form was referring to male applicants. Without blinking, he wrote that I was capable of doing all of these things. When he saw a sign-up sheet for aerobics with a charge of $35, he said, “I’d pay $35 to see Ruth Rucker in a leotard.” When a Sunday morning class took a Pentecostal turn and was cut short, he said, “The truth squad gottem.” But beyond his humor was the heart that made the first call, reached out, encouraged, as Tommy wrote. When our children were in medical school, John would call and take them to dinner whenever he was in Memphis. What a gift to them!