WILMINGTON — Eleanor Jane Swift Crafts, 95, died Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017, at home. Eleanor was born Nov. 5, 1921, in Dickinson Hospital, Northampton, Mass., daughter of the late Leslie W. Swift and Emily L. Aldrich Swift.
Eleanor Swift Crafts was an accomplished woman who loved learning, treasured art and beauty and had an insatiable desire to see and experience the world. She pursued these loves all her life, graduating from the prestigious Vassar College with a degree in Art History in an era when upper education was dominated by men. There she also studied French, a language she loved and spoke fluently her whole life; a language she made use of frequently in her travels around the world.
Together with her husband, Roger, she made multiple trips to see the great art and castles of Europe, to Egypt to see the tombs of the Pharaohs and to the Caribbean, where she found a new love in snorkeling. Always a talented artist, and under Roger’s tutelage, she became a skilled water color painter, composing vibrant florals and vivid landscape scenes. In addition to all of this, she was a consummate bridge player, a proficient organist and an avid thespian who loved being on the stage or doing recitations for family and friends.
But despite all of these adventures and accomplishments, those who spoke with her in her later years would invariably be told that it was her husband, Roger, who was the joy and love of her life and her sons, David, Tom and Dick, who were the legacy of which she was most proud. And for all that she was and the legacy she leaves behind, we honor her.
Eleanor was preceded in death by her husband of 72 years, Roger Earl Crafts, and never stopped grieving that loss. She is survived by three sons, David L. Crafts, and his wife, Linda Eng Crafts, Thomas C. Crafts, and his wife, Donna Desmond-Crafts, and Richard L. Crafts, and his wife, Linda Bissonnette Crafts; four grandchildren, Trisha C. Crafts, Johanna Crafts Mears, and her husband, Jonathan E. Mears, Stephen C. Crafts and Joshua P. Crafts; and one great-grandson, Jackson A. Crafts.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct, 14, at Harbor United Methodist Church with the Rev. Russell Nanney officiating. Prior to the service, the family will greet friends from 1:30 p.m. until the service hour. Interment will follow in Oleander Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Eleanor’s memory may be made to Harbor United Methodist Church, Lightkeepers Ministry, 4853 Masonboro Loop Road, Wilmington, NC 28409.
Share online condolences with the family at andrewsmortuary.com.
