Lisabeth Fountain Crawford

Lisabeth Fountain Crawford, age 76, passed away on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. Lisabeth was born on March 12, 1948, at Fort Knox in Kentucky to Risden Lyle Fountain and Nancy Hyde Fountain. Being born into a military family, Lisabeth got to call many places home. The list includes Fort Knox, KY, Japan, Fort Hood, TX, Germany, Washington, DC, and Miami, FL before moving to DeFuniak Springs. She was in the class of 1966 of Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC, and she was a proud member of the class of January 1971 at the University of Miami. Lisabeth was always active in her local church, and her memberships through the years include University Baptist Church from 1976-2002, Christ Fellowship from 2002-2020, and First Baptist Church of DeFuniak Springs from 2020-2024. 

 A woman of many talents, Lisabeth was always eager to be involved and to try new things. After college, Lisabeth worked as a research biologist from 1971 to 1977. She was a valued member of the Miami Dade County Republican Executive Committee where she served in various roles from 1976 to 2004, including being their corresponding secretary from 1981-1984. She embraced the title “Shorty the Clown” during a period being a professional clown, she obtained her license and was a real estate agent from 1985 to 2023, and she worked with students in the Miami area from 1990 to 2020 as a substitute teacher and as a substitute paraprofessional in ESE classes at Gulfstream Elementary. Lisabeth was proud of the jobs she held over the years, and she thoroughly enjoyed each opportunity to serve.

 Lisabeth’s loves include her family, especially her 3 grandsons, Risden, Nestor, and Victor, animals, Disney World, church, Jesus, reading, being in the Miami Christmas Pageant, crocheting and knitting, arts and crafts, and pottery. She never met a stray animal – if an animal needed a home, Lisabeth took it home with her. In college she was known for walking around campus with her pet hamster, Barbara, in her shirt pocket. Other special pets were Bagheera, her cat in college, Satin, the cat she had before she got married, and Gimili, the first cat she and Jim shared after their marriage. Serving her church was also always important to Lisabeth, and she was always committed to choir, childcare and working with their deaf community. After she lost her hearing later in life, she enthusiastically joined the Deaf community and became an activist for them. She devoted years of her life to the deaf ministry at Christ Fellowship serving as an interpreter and doing anything else they needed. 

 Lisabeth leaves behind her loving husband, James Vernon Crawford and daughters Jamie “Sprite” Crawford-Harmon and her husband Thomas “Turtle” Harmon and Samantha Crawford, grandchildren Risden Thomas Harmon, Nestor James Chacon, and Victor Gabriel Chacon. 

She is preceded in death by her parents, Risden and Nancy Fountain and brother, Risden Graham Fountain, aunt Martha Hyde LeBlanc, and in-laws James Moore Crawford and Marie Helene Crawford

 Lisabeth will be remembered a kind, caring, joyful, and determined woman. She was generous with her time. She was a devoted mother and grandmother. She was a fighter who was strong-willed yet adaptive and sensitive to the needs of others. She had so many desirable qualities, and she leaves behind an example for all who knew her to follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to the American Society for Deaf Children or the American Diabetes Association.