Rebecca Lowe was born January 22, 1966 to Dr Roger C Crum Jr and Brenda Crum In Kansas City Missouri and passed into the next life peacefully September 10th 2017
Her youth was spent in Overland Park KS. She spent a few years in Overland Park, Terre Haute IN where she was joined by her brother Roger Allen , Radnor Pennsylvania and finally to West Des Moines where she graduated from high school at Valley High in 1984. Iowa State University was calling her name so she backed a car out of the driveway and enjoyed her time spent in Ames. After a couple years in Ames New York City was calling her name for a modeling career. As things do in your youth that experience shaped her for a return to college at Grandview University where she earned her BA in TV and Radio journalism . Several jobs in Des Moines and west Des Moines in various industries gave her more life experiences. During a company outing (I-Cubs ) game she met a guy who would become her husband Dave within a year. They bought a house and decided to start a family, in October of 1998 they welcomed Josie into their home where Rebecca took to the hardest and her most challenging job she would ever undertake, motherhood. Josie thrived under her mothers care and was reading by age 2. They enjoyed trips to the park and walks on the beach in various venues that were almost always the most exciting trips Josie had seen in her young life. During that time Rebecca had a abnormal PAP tests , so a cone biopsy was performed where the margins hadn’t come out cleanly , and a hysterectomy was recommended, she sought a second opinion as she was not yet finished with her uterus yet. Another cone biopsy was complete with clean margins and was given the go ahead to proceed to get pregnant with John before a move to Gretna via Omaha while our home was being built . Rebecca shopped for fixtures and finishes , sinks and toilets while pregnant with John and taking Josie all over the city. With 2 kids in tow we moved into our home in Gretna. Volunteering for preschool and school and taking John on adventures to the zoo and taking care of our home was Rebecca’s forte , she enjoyed meeting new people and helping teachers with classroom help and making calls to help anyway she would be able to. As John started full time school her thoughts changed to working with kids and off to the Elkhorn school district to be a “lunch lady”. This allowed her to be off during the days the kids were off and engaged her motherly love for even more children . Band and show choir completions filled our weekends , along with trips to see family and enjoying the experiences where life took us were her favorite memories , she once joked that she would scout camp with John and I when there was room service and a 5 star chef where we were going . Never materialized for the chef but John has turned into a pretty good cook for a 13 year old. Baking cookies and cooking family dinners were some of the hardest things for her to give up during her decline due to cancer. She sat in her chair and directed us on what to do in the same manner as if she had been cooking it herself.
During a family trip and cruise to Alaska she had some strange swelling in her left leg that was chalked up to sciatica and aging. Knowing now it was the return of the cervical cancer that ultimately took her life makes it all the more disheartening. Throughout it all her upbeat and positive energy and ability to laugh at the situation lessens the blow to our family .
She is survived by her husband of 21 years Dave , their children John (13) and Josie (18) , her parents Roger Jr and Brenda , her brother Roger (Allen) his wife Consuelo , and her furry children Rose and Clara.
She was preceded in death by her Grandparents Roger Sr and Louise Crum and Merwyn and Joyce Ingram
The family would like to extend their most gracious thanks to the teams at UNMC (Dr Kerry Rodabaugh , Leslie , Pam and everyone else who cared for Rebecca during her struggle.
Also the tireless effort of the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) who helped us care for her at home for as long as we were able to.
Special thank you to Amanda Lathrop at Makovicka Physical therapy for helping to ease her transition after her hip surgery, always the helpful one Rebecca shared information with Amanda with a wealth of new information about her adopted home town of Gretna to make their families transition easier.
The most excellent staff of the Josie Harper Hospice House that helped her transition to the next phase in her life.
We will continue her fight to educate and inform the vulnerable about the danger and human cost of HPV cervical cancer . Our hope is for this disease to disappear from the planet one life at a time through vaccination and prevention and education.
Visitation Thursday 1:00 PM till service time Family. Celebration of Life Service 2:00 PM Thursday (9/14/17) Roeder Mortuary 11710 Standing Stone Gretna, NE. 68028
In Lieu of flowers , the family would prefer a donation to the American Cancer Society in Rebecca’s name or to the Lowe family for the children’s education to become a lasting legacy to their mothers perseverance to encourage them to do their best.
