Marianna "Nancy" Crookston Israelsen

Marianna “Nancy” Crookston Israelsen peacefully joined her sweetheart Lyle, surrounded by her family on June 20, 2018, at the age of 93. Nancy was a devoted wife, loving mother of twelve, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother to 193, a posterity of 205.
Nancy was born in Logan, Utah on August 17, 1924 to Glenna Ballantyne and Robert Burns “Coach” Crookston. When she was two, she moved to a small fruit and chicken farm in North Logan. Except for a few years during World War II, North Logan would always be her home. For Nancy, growing up there was paradise, with a variety of fruit trees and animals, horses to ride, kittens and puppies to love and thousands of eggs to gather. Nancy appreciated the many talents of her mother, her ability to create beauty from ordinary things, her gift of painting, music, literature and graciousness, all of which she inherited and cultivated in herself. From her father she learned discipline as she watched him as athlete and coach, and gentleness and kindness as she watched him tenderly nurture and love his wife.
Nancy always had a passion for learning and excelled at North Logan Elementary School, a four room school of eight grades. She began high school at South Cache High in Hyrum, transferring her Jr. year to Logan High where her father was coach. Here she became involved in a many activities, including drama, rifle team and student body offices.
It wasn’t long before Lyle Israelsen, who lived just two doors down, noticed the dark haired beauty, staked a claim and began courting her. Their plans were interrupted when Pearl Harbor was bombed and Lyle enlisted in the Navy, Nancy as an art major at USAC. They determined to wait until after the war to be married, and their courtship continued through letters. Nancy worked as resident artist and editor for the yearbook, a rifle team sharpshooter and recalls often riding her horse to school, tethering her at the campus horse barn. Before long, Lyle reported that he had a hard time concentrating on flying, and received a call from Nancy saying she felt they should be married before he went overseas. Through a series of miracles, Lyle was able to get leave, and on Oct 9, 1944, they were married in the Logan Temple and were stationed in Seattle. Their time together was soon interrupted when Lyle narrowly escaped death as his plane went down in a terrible crash, from which he spent two years convalescing. Nancy weathered this difficult storm and seven months after the accident, Doug and Dwight were born. Over the next 26 years, 10 more children were joyfully welcomed.
Nancy’s fascination with books infused their home with a rich legacy of learning, and between chores, children would be strewn across couches, cuddled in corners or in front of the fireplace absorbed in a book. Somehow she always found a way to stretch the dollars to obtain yet another great book!
Nancy’s extraordinary mothering was honored when she became a finalist as Utah Mother of the Year in 1990. She saw the world as a palate, and everything to Nancy was fair game to become a work of art, from the smallest seed or twig to a gigantic bowery ceiling. She left a trail of beauty everywhere she went. In spite of the demands of raising 12 children, she always found time for her art, co-founding and painting for the famous North Logan Pumpkin Walk for the rest of her life. When she was 58, she decided to return to USU to further her art studies. At age 90, she celebrated her birthday with an art show of hundreds of works including illustrated children’s books, etched glass doors, oil and watercolor paintings, pencil drawings, logo designs, wood carving, primary visual aids, murals, needlework and sketches. Nancy is also noted for illustrating and authoring several books, including the widely known Israelsen Zoo. Most recently she participated in publishing a 400 page volume, “All My Love, Lyle,” a compilation of Lyle’s wartime love letters. Her artistry was not limited to canvas and glass, but could also be seen in her exquisite iris garden. For over 25 years, Nancy served as ward primary chorister and is remembered by hundreds for her creative visual aids and unique songs.
She taught her children the value of work and play and to appreciate the beauty of nature. Not only did they work together gardening, canning, sewing, cleaning and cooking but took every opportunity for adventure; camping, hunting, fishing, hiking and horseback riding, as well as regular 50 mile expeditions into the Wind River wilderness.
Following Lyle’s death in 2010, Nancy continued to lead the family with grace and direction and considered her posterity her greatest legacy. She is survived by her twelve children, Dwight, Doug, Jeanne (Harrison), Laurie (Ballam), Mark, Ned, John, Lila (Geddes),Eve (Jones), Richard, James and Bonnie (Erickson), 58 grandchildren, 132 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services are under the direction of Allen Mortuary of North Logan. A viewing will take place Friday, June 29, 2018 at Allen Mortuary of North Logan, 420 East 1800 North, North Logan, Utah, from 6 to 8 pm. Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 30, 2018 at the Green Canyon Stake Center, 400 East 1800 North, North Logan, Utah, beginning at 10:00 AM with a viewing prior from 8:30 to 9:30 am. Interment will take place in the Logan City Cemetery.