As a young girl growing up in a rural area of Oklahoma, life was not always easy. When Pearl's mother died in 1915, the burden of caring for the family of nine children fell on the shoulders of her older sister, Minnie. Pearl was a dreamer, and in spite of all the hardships, Minnie encouraged her to make her dreams come true.
After graduating from high school in 1925, Pearl attended Oklahoma Baptist University for two years. She lived in a dormitory and worked part-time in the school cafeteria to offset the expenses of her education. During her freshman year, she kept a diary in which she recorded her thoughts and experiences. An entry she made on October 13th states, "... O.B.U. is wonderful. I only hope I can make a success here. If I could only be a leader." She fulfilled her goals through her hard work and determination.
In 1928, she married George T. Crowley, Sr., a native Texan. They resided in Fort Worth Texas, until several years after their sons, George Jr. and Allen, were born. In 1936, they built a home in Sansom Park on land that originally belonged to George's father, A. F. "Frank" Crowley. Pearl named this home "Sky Haven." Pearl and George were both actively involved in their community. George served as the first Mayor of Sansom Park and Pearl participated in many community and church activities. She was a charter member of the Ionian Study Club and the North Fort Worth Garden Club. Her interest in horticulture led her to become a nationally acredited Garden Club Judge. She also gave classes in the art of dried flower arrangements. Pearl and her sister Minnie were active members of the American Iris Society of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Botanical Society. They both loved to travel and through the years they toured many gardens in this country, as well as in Europe and Canada. Pearl represented the Poolville Baptist Church at the 1970 Baptist World Congress Orient. During this trip she also pursued her interest in Japanese floral arrangement by attending lectures at Ikebana International in Tokyo, Japan.
In 1955, Pearl and George bought a ranch in Wise County and built another home. For eight years after his death in 1974, she continued to live there. She married Virgil Denison in 1982 and they made their home in Jacksboro, Texas. After his death in 1984, she moved to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, where she had previously built a vacation home. Several years before her death, she returned to Sansom Park, where she built another home adjacent to "Sky Haven." Pearl was survived by her two sons, their wives, five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, her sister Minnie Morton, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Please read Pearl, a poem written by her niece Jennie Lou Brooks.
