In February 2015 we started this fund to honor our mother, Jessie Mae Crumpton. On August 25, 2026, we lost our father, Harold Crumpton. They were married for 51 years, and it is right that their names stay together. This is their story, and it is the reason this scholarship exists.

Our mother, Jessie

Our mother passed away on February 19, 2015, at Delmar Gardens on the Green, with her husband and son at her side and her daughter on a plane, racing home to her. She loved God and her family, and she tried to give more to her community than she received.

In the 1970s our family could not afford private school, but Mom wanted us to have a distinctive education, one that would nurture our curiosity, build a love of learning, and give us an edge in St. Louis. So she volunteered in the New City School library to lower our tuition. She was a fast learner and progressed through many roles, ultimately serving several gentlemen who held the Head of School role, including Tom Hoerr. She gave herself to every child at New City from 1975 to 1993. She was a comforter and a healer. To her own children and to a generation of New City kids, she was the mom who said, "Baby, it's gonna be alright."

In 1992 she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and soon after she retired from the school she loved. Dad cared for her through every year of her illness.

Our father, Harold

Our father was born in 1938 and raised in The Ville in north St. Louis, and he never left it behind. He graduated from Sumner High School in 1957, went to work as a chemist, and studied nights and weekends until, in 1971, he became the first in his family to graduate from college, earning his chemistry degree from Washington University on a Danforth "I Dare You" Scholarship. He understood what a scholarship could do because one had done it for him.

He went on to a 19-year career at Southwestern Bell, served on the Missouri Public Service Commission under Governor Mel Carnahan, chaired the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, led the St. Louis City NAACP, and chaired the Greater Ville Neighborhood Preservation Commission. Wherever he went, he opened doors and made room at the table for people whose voices too often went unheard. Even in his seventies he could be found walking The Ville, pointing out the homes and buildings worth saving. He believed the future of north St. Louis was worth fighting for, and he believed education was how you fought for it.

He died on August 25, 2026. Dad was a leader to many, but to us he was simply Dad and Daddy.

The scholarship

Because of their love for children and their belief in education, we are keeping their spirit alive by passing on the opportunity they gave us. In partnership with New City School, an independent progressive school in the Central West End serving children age three through sixth grade, the Harold & Jessie Early Education Scholarship Fund helps a child attend New City School, Pre-K through 6th grade. Recipients will come from North City or from the St. Louis zip codes covered by the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).

Mom's school. Dad's neighborhood. A door opened for a child whose family, like ours once, needs a little help to get through it.

If you believe in inspiring love, diversity, and education in St. Louis, or in expanding early childhood education for families who cannot otherwise afford it, please give or share this campaign. Thank you for honoring our parents this way.

With all our love,

Karen and Robert