Naomi Imogene (Jean) Crozier was born in Palestine, Ill., on December 7, 1928, the daughter of Arthur and Flossie Landrith. She passed away May 22, 2023.

Both parents preceded her in death, as did her husband, Wayne R. (Joe) Crozier, her brother Owen, and her sisters Loretta and Dorothy.

Surviving her are her three children, Steven of Seattle, Wash., Pamela (Schlamowitz) of Vero Beach, Fla., and James (Jim) of Camp Point, Ill.; five granddaughters, two grandsons, and 14 great-grandchildren, along with her sister Nina of Indianapolis, Ind.

Jean graduated high school in Palestine, Illinois, and thereafter attended secretarial school in Indianapolis, Ind.  She received her dental assistant’s certification in 1970.

She met her future husband Joe, an officer in the U.S. Navy, following World War II and they were married in 1950.  Throughout his 37 years in the service, she was a devoted and talented “Navy wife,” managing a three-child household, the multiple cross-country and occasionally international moves required by Joe’s military career, and the innumerable professional and social demands placed on a Navy couple.

Later in life, she expanded her horizons by using her dental assistant’s certification to launch a second career as an assistant in dental offices in Memphis, Tenn. and Vallejo, Calif.

Following Joe’s retirement from military service in 1978, they relocated to Napa, Calif. and it was during their many years in the Napa Valley that Jean really hit her stride with a new career in the wine industry.  Over the 30 years that she and Joe lived in Napa, Jean worked at a variety of wineries as a tour guide and retail and hospitality associate.  She loved wine and the wine culture of the Napa Valley and became one of its most enthusiastic and beloved representatives.  She and Joe also became part of a wine-making group – the label on their award-winning Hillrise Cellars wine was a drawing of their Napa Valley home.

Jean and Joe enjoyed 60 years together as a married couple.  When Joe passed away in 2010, Jean chose to relocate to Vero Beach, Fla. so that she could enjoy her golden years near her daughter Pam in the welcoming climate of the Southeast.  She moved into the retirement community of Indian River Estates, where she remained until her passing.

It was during her time at Indian River that she met the “second love of her life,” Dr. Robert Gerlaugh, a widower who was her beloved companion for many years before his passing in December of 2022.

Amazingly enough (given her peripatetic lifestyle as a military wife), Jean loved to travel and managed to visit almost every continent except Africa before she and Joe settled in Napa.  She was also a devoted churchgoer and graced many church choirs with her beautiful singing voice.

Naomi Imogene Crozier was a cherished wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, renowned for her cheerful disposition and her vivacious nature.  She will be remembered fondly and missed deeply by all who knew and loved her.