SHERBORN: Kenneth S. Crowell, age 93, a longtime proud resident of Sherborn, died peacefully with his family by his side on Saturday, May 11, 2013, at Mary Ann Morse Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Natick. He was the devoted husband of the late Stella (Anderson) Crowell for 63 years.
Born in Cambridge and raised and educated in Somerville, he was a son of the late Percy R. and Emma (Henderson) Crowell. Ken was employed with the John Hancock Company while putting himself through Bentley School of Accounting and Finance at night.
Ken and Stella met at work and were married just before he was drafted into the Army. Ken served as a Tech Sergeant on Staten Island operating a tabulating machine that kept track of soldiers debarking New York for Europe. After the war, he and Stella lived in Natick prior to settling in Sherborn in 1953. He returned to John Hancock where he worked with the newly created UNIVAC computing systems. Ken left Hancock after 25 years when he was offered a position with Honeywell. He later worked with Grossman’s overseeing computerization of the company.
A community service-oriented man, Ken began his long association with the Town of Sherborn in 1960 heading the Board of Health. He was a Selectman for two years and in 1968 became the Town Accountant, a position he held for 31 years. Ken had also been Town Administrative Assistant, and was active with the Computer Study Committee, the Council on Aging (until 2007) and the Elderly Housing Committee. Ken also worked as the Town Accountant in Walpole from December of 1977 until 1987, but continued as Town Accountant for Sherborn until 1999, when he retired completely at age 80. Ken and Stella were avid tennis players and played at the Suburban Health Club well into their 70’s.
Predeceased by Stella in 2003, he is survived by a daughter, Debbie Doucette and her husband Dave of Marlborough; two granddaughters, Heidi Skowronski and her husband Dave of Newtown,CT, and Sarah Doucette of Marlborough; and great-granddaughter Olivia. Ken was also the brother of the late Virginia Henderson, Nancy Steele and Prescott Crowell.
A Memorial Service will be held in the Pilgrim Church, 25 South Main Street, Sherborn, on Saturday, May 18th at 10:00a.m. Burial will be private. Visiting hours will be in the John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park Street at Natick Common, on Friday 4 – 7p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ken’s memory to the Framingham Heart Study, 73 Mt. Wayte Ave. #2, Framingham, MA 01702.