Audrey Elaine (Golden) Crutcher

Audrey Elaine (Golden) Crutcher

Audrey Elaine (Golden) Crutcher, revered high school business educator and former Fort Scott resident, passed away Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020, in Springfield, Mo. Her husband of nearly 65 years, James Samuel “Tex” Crutcher, preceded her in death on July 26, 2018.

Born Oct. 1, 1931, on the Golden family farm and ranch near Garland, Kan., she was the daughter of Walter Bryan Golden and Opal Louise (Pettibon) Golden.

Crutcher graduated from Fort Scott High School and then attended Fort Scott Community College where she was named homecoming queen in 1949. She continued her education at Kansas State Teacher’s College and graduated with a degree in business from what is now Pittsburg State University.

After college, she worked in Bartlesville, Okla., as a secretary at the headquarters of Phillips 66 Oil Company and lived in an apartment building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. After two years she returned to Pittsburg, Kan., where she was employed at the Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma Dairy Association.

She married James Samuel “Tex” Crutcher Nov. 25, 1953 in Pittsburg, Kan. They later moved to Columbus, Kan., where her husband was assistant coach of football, basketball, baseball and track at Columbus High School from 1955 to 1958.

In 1958, the Crutcher family, which now included son Greg and daughter Kim, moved to Garland, Kan., to help manage the Golden Farm and cattle operation with her father Walter B. Golden. They continued farming but moved to Eddy Street and later East National Avenue in Fort Scott where the farm and ranch operation was headquartered. For many years she was employed at Fort Scott Motors, an automobile dealership.

In the early 1970s, Audrey Crutcher returned to college and earned a teaching certificate. She performed her student teaching obligations at Uniontown High School then took a position teaching business practices, accounting and typing at Fort Scott High School for many years. Her leadership and mentoring influenced many young women to pursue careers in business.

In their retirement, she and her husband Tex, former president of Citizen’s National Bank, managed a popular travel club for seniors called Funseekers for more than 20 years. The group traveled regionally and to countless destinations around the world. She was a longtime member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, an organization that supports women’s educational opportunities

The Crutchers moved to Springfield, Mo., in June 2015, to be closer to their daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Survivors include daughter Kimberley Hart and her husband James of Willard, Mo.; a son, Greg Crutcher, of Albuquerque, N.M.; three grandsons, Aaron Hart and wife Kristi of Jefferson City, Mo.; Justin Hart and wife Sarah and Tyler Hart and wife Kayla of Republic, Mo. She is also survived by eight great-grandchildren: Trysten, Mason, Grayson, Abe, Remington, Viv, Marion James and Eliza Mae.

Additionally, she is survived by her sister Bernita Hill and nephew John Hill, both of Fort Scott and Robb Hill of Des Moines, Iowa. In Texas, Crutcher is survived by brothers and sisters-in-law Paul DeWitt Crutcher, William Donald Crutcher, Diane Margaret Crutcher, Judy Jane Crutcher and numerous nieces and nephews.

Rev. Dr. Jared Witt and Rev. Steve Cole will conduct funeral services at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 28 at the First United Methodist Church in Fort Scott. The family will receive friends on Friday from 10:30 a.m. prior to services at the church. Private burial will take place at the U.S. National Cemetery in Fort Scott. Memorials are suggested to the Fort Scott Community Foundation and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.