Loving mother, enthusiastic square and round dancer

Marion E. Crosby, a longtime Claremont resident, died on December 10, 2015 at her home at the Claremont Manor. She was 93.

She was born on Easter Sunday on April 2, 1922 to Fred and Gertrude Dyer and grew up in Pomona with her two brothers, Harold and Richard. She graduated from Pomona High School and attended Pomona Junior College, now Mt. San Antonio College, as well as the University of Redlands.

She met her future husband Leo Crosby when he was in Pomona visiting relatives. The couple wed in 1943 in Pueblo, Colorado at the home of Leo’s parents. Mr. Crosby was in the US Army Air Corps when they were married. He earned the rank of first lieutenant and served as a flight instructor during World War II. Mrs. Crosby followed her new husband as he was stationed at several stateside locations, including Texas, Oklahoma and Coffeyville, Kansas.

Marion used to tell their three children, Connie, Bob and John, a funny story about their time in Oklahoma. The Crosbys were living off-base in a trailer, parked in a vacant lot next to a gas station. One time, they woke to feel the trailer moving around as if there were an earthquake. It turned out there was a cow relaxing so close to the trailer that every time the critter scratched itself, the trailer would shimmy.

After the war, the Crosbys built a house on a 15-acre orange grove in Claremont where they lived for the next 65 years until moving to the Claremont Manor in 2011. Leo preceded Mrs. Crosby in death in 2012.

 In the late 1950s, the Crosbys became involved in square dance and round dancing, beginning with membership in the Foot ‘n Fiddle Square Dance Club in La Verne. Over the years, they became prominent dance instructors for round dance clubs like the Lamplighter Squares of Chino and the Merry-Go-Rounders of La Verne. Marion also delighted in cruising, inviting 30 or more dance friends to join in the fun as she and Leo sailed to Alaska, Hawaii, New England, Canada and the Caribbean. She always scheduled time for her group to perform an exhibition dance.

Closer to home, she enjoyed everything about Las Vegas—the shows, buffets, the VIP parties, slot tournaments and, especially, the craps table! With her good luck at the casinos, she was able to buy nice pieces of jewelry for herself and generously shared her winnings with her family.

Mrs. Crosby is survived by her three children, Connie, Bob and John; five grandchildren, David, Monica, Christopher, Caitlyn and Natalie; two great-grandchildren, Brandyn and Aiden, and her brother Harold. Her brother, Richard, preceded her in death.

Funeral services will be held at noon on Saturday, December 19 at Todd Memorial Chapel (325 N. Indian Hill Blvd. in Claremont), followed by burial at Oak Park Cemetery in Claremont. A viewing will be held on Friday, December 18 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Todd Memorial Chapel in Claremont.