Obituary of Cecil Allan Cromwell

Cecil Allan Cromwell Sr., 81 yrs old passed away at his home in the Twin Lakes area of Federal Way, Washington on 18 MAY 2021. He was afflicted with end-stage COPD and lung cancer. Recently had been placed on the Franciscan Hospice Program.

Cecil Sr. was born on 29 JAN 1940 in Worthington, Nobles, Minnesota to Normal Alfred Cromwell and Letha May Boyer. He was the 5th son of ten children. His siblings are Normal Jr, Marlin, Newell, Monte, Larry, Arthur, Lynn, Kenny, and Leah. All have preceded him in death except for Monte. In 1945, the Cromwell Clan moved to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. Educated from Kindergarten to 5th grade in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. The Cromwell clan moved in 1950 when Normal Sr. bought a farm resulting in the Cromwell Clan moving to the Northeast side of Lake Benton, Minnesota. In 1958 Cecil Sr. graduated from Tyler High School, Minnesota.

Navy boot camp came in 1959 at the Great Lakes Navy Base in Chicago, Illinois. After boot camp, he attended electrician school. Initially, he served on the U.S.S. O’Hare and finally with the U.S.S. Leary. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, and Northern Italy. Visiting countries such as France, Spain, Italy, Lebanon, and Cuba. Cecil Sr. served from 1959 to 1963 in the Navy and is considered a Vietnam War Era veteran. The U.S.S. Leary was in Cuba during the Bay of the Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Their vessel was the one that pinned the Russian submarine during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Many naval stories about the places Cecil Sr served such as riding a camel in Lebanon, riding in a submarine, visiting Pompeii, and climbing into the crater of Mt. Vesuvius.

Following Grandpa Alfred Cromwell and some of Cecil Sr. brothers, Cecil moved to Seattle in 1963 when he discharged from the U.S. Navy. While in Seattle, he met and married Sharon Ervin. They were married in Coeur d’Alene on 18 JUN 1964. Honeymoon was fishing on Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. With a combined family they raised daughters: Linda, Deborah, and Tammy and sons Cecil Jr, Daniel, David, and Richard. Daughter Elizabeth was stillborn. A combined union created 8 children, 34 grandchildren, 49 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren at the time of Cecil’s passing.

From 1963 to 1975, Cecil and his family lived in the West Seattle area near the Alaska Junction neighborhood. The family moved from West Seattle to Vashon Island in 1975 so son Daniel could start Kindergarten there and be near Cecil Sr.’s dear friend Zola Profitt. They stayed there for the next 43 years on “The Farm”. Fruit trees and

chicken coops abounded on the farm. There were multiple varieties of fruit on each tree and multiple varieties of trees on the farm. Visitors to “The Farm” could walk, talk and eat delicious fruit from Cecil’s trees. Cecil worked as an Electrician for Bethlehem Steel for 28 years before the mill was sold and finished his career working for Romac Industries Inc for 12 years before retiring. Due to health issues, Cecil Sr. and Sharon moved to Federal Way, Washington community in 2018 to be closer to his sons and daughter in laws’ Cecil Jr (Claudia) and Daniel (Krista) Cromwell plus closer to Sharon’s dialysis center.

Cecil Sr and Sharon became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on 18 OCT 2005 and were sealed in the Seattle Temple for time and all eternity on 13 JAN 2007. Hobbies and activities included hunting, photography, fishing, grafting and planting fruit trees, raising different varieties of fowl, time with his children, family, friends (from work, church, or activities), his dogs, driving his grandchildren around his small Vashon Island farm in the wagon of his tractor and telling stories from his younger years or about his siblings/cousins. The Cromwell family would like to thank the wonderful Franciscan Hospice team and family/friends who helped care for Cecil Sr. and Sharon in the past few years. Services will be Saturday 12 JUN 2021 at 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm a the Hylebos LDS Ward at 34815 Weyerhaeuser Way South, Federal Way, and Monday, 2:15 pm 14 JUN 2021 at Tahoma National Cemetery 18600 SE 240th St, Kent, Washington. Interment will be at the Tahoma National Cemetery located in Kent, Washington. Edwards Memorial has arranged funeral services and cremation