Lorinne Carson Crawford was born in Des Moines, Iowa on September 27, 1912. She was the daughter of DeWitt and Cora Irene Crawford and younger sister to Maxine Crawford. She passed peacefully on the morning of March 18, 2010, at 2:55 AM. She was 97 and a half years old. Lorinne is survived by her five children, eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
At Iowa State Teachers College, she was president of the Student Council and graduated in 1934 with a Bachelor Degree in Education. She worked at Yellowstone National Park during the summers. In her senior year, Bing Crosby came to judge a beauty contest, and as the winner, Lorinne was on her way to Hollywood.
In Hollywood, she worked consistently as a dancer and was in several movies, including Top Hat with Fred Astaire. She also traveled to Hawaii and England, and modeled for Vogue Magazine. When in London, she met a dashing American aeronautical engineer, and in July 1938, she married Frederick M. Thomas.
In spring, 1940, she and her baby were evacuated to America on the last ship that carried civilians. After the war, the growing family lived in Vermont, Massachusetts, Texas, and California. In 1947, world-wide nuclear war was considered a real possibility, and the entire family emigrated to New Zealand. In 1949, although ill, Lorinne managed to get herself and her five children back to the United States. With the help of her mother, they settled in Southern California, where she recovered her health.
With further education at the University of Southern California, she worked as a teacher of the deaf, and then as a librarian for Los Angeles County for fifteen years. In 1980, Lorinne Crawford Thomas settled in Old Mystic, Connecticut, which was her home until her death.
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