American Academy of Achievement; toured military bases and visited Posts and Auxiliaries in the Far East and in all 51 Departments. A Life Member of Blount County Memorial


Auxiliary 5154, Crowe-Durbino was a core member in her home Department, holding many positions in the organization including three terms as Auxiliary President, four years as District Secretary-Treasurer, two terms as Department Chief of Staff and three terms as Department Historian, winning the “National Silver Plate” Award in 1979-1980. She was Department President from 1978-1979. At the national level, she was Publicity


Remembering Past National President Juanita Crowe-Durbino 1930-2015


“Volunteers for A Better World”


P


ast National President Juanita Crowe- Durbino, who dedicated more than half a century of service to the Auxiliary,


has passed away, but the gifts she gave members are timeless – treasured friendships, vision and leadership and a wonderful museum on the fourth fl oor of the VFW Building in Kansas City that documents more than 100 years of Auxiliary history. Crowe-Durbino, the fi rst member from


the “Volunteer State” of Tennessee to serve as National President, chose “Volunteers for a Better World” as her theme. Under her leadership, the Auxiliary’s Cancer Aid & Research Fund topped $3 million, and to mark the Auxiliary’s 80th year of serving America, she established the Auxiliary Museum, which offi cially opened on July 29, 1994. While she was National President in 1993-1994, she also represented the Auxiliary at the D-Day 50th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony in Normandy, France; attended the


Director, Membership Director, Community Activities Director, National Chairman for the Southern Conference on the Safety Program and served two terms as Co-Chairman of Pages at National Convention. As a Past National President, Crowe-Durbino


was the 1994-1995 Auxiliary Liaison to the VFW National Political Action Committee, and in 1997, she was the emcee at the annual birthday ceremony for the Statue of Liberty. She was also a member of the Planning Committee for National Convention 2002 in Nashville. Her “Volunteer State” drive extended beyond


the Auxiliary. She was a long-time volunteer and co-chair for the Blount County Toys for Tots when that program was under the direction of the McGhee Tyson Air National Guard, and served as advisor to the Junior Service League when they assumed responsibility of the program. She was also a former volunteer for Special Olympics. She was a member of Maryville First Baptist Church. She is survived by her husband, Frank Durbino,


a past Department Commander in North Carolina and Life Member of VFW Post 9133; daughters Patti Yardley James and Linda Yardley; stepdaughter Kathy Durbino Boron and stepson Tom Durbino.


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