Professor Joyce Wheaton-Crowe Passes Away

Frostburg State University remembers Professor Joyce Wheaton-Crowe for not only her contribution to the Education Department, but the beautiful personality that brightened every room she entered. She was not only bright, but vibrant, exuberant, and rich with love for her students and colleagues. Staff members from the Education Department were greeted with her care-free smile every morning and evening, while her students had the pleasure of absorbing her words of wisdom throughout her teachings.

Joyce Wheaton-Crowe was a “hands-on” professor who reminded every educator that crossed her path to never forget the value of engaging themselves with their pupils, and encouraged them to strive for success that exceeds the limitations of society. Wheaton-Crowe has made an impact on future educators in not only Frostburg State University but internationally as well (including Europe, Australia, and Ireland), and bestowed intelligence that is irreplaceable to all she encountered.

Professor Fannia Boayue from the Department of Educational Professions remembered Joyce as a light-hearted, vibrant woman during their travels together to Indiana and Colorado for presentations and reading conferences. Wheaton-Crowe was always known for being conscious of her personal health as she made nutritious meals for trips in and out of the office space, and was never anything less than generous and kind to those she worked with.

Boayue expressed how giving and sharing Wheaton-Crowe was throughout the years they spent with one another: “I mean when I was getting married back then she had a wedding shower for me, you know, at her home. We’re talking about knowing someone, you know? I mean, how much more can I know her outside of the department and academics?”

She recalled that one could always “hear her smile in her voice,” making it clear that accepting Wheaton-Crowe’s sudden passing would be difficult to adjust to. Boayue reminisced on the days when Wheaton-Crowe gushed about her sons and grandchildren in the workplace, smiling from ear to ear from the pride she possessed for her family. Even after being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Wheaton-Crowe remained optimistic and joyous, exuding strength that made the disease dim under her brilliant smile.

She was blessed with the ability to brighten one’s day with her inner and outer beauty, and affected many students who couldn’t find pleasure in reading on their own. One must not remember Joyce Wheaton-Crowe for her two year battle with ALS ending on Februrary 4th, but the forty years of teaching and joyful memories with her friends and family. Frostburg will never forget the impacts she has made to our university, and her spirit will live on in her husband, children, colleagues, and students.