1943 Jim Crouch OSU	Elsie Schneiter OSU	2003 - Jim & Elsie Crouch

James Jesup Crouch, Jr. 7 (James Jesup Crouch, Sr. 6, James Thomas Crouch 5, William Smith Crouch 4, Richard Crouch 3, John Crouch 2, Richard Crouch 1) was born at his parent's home on March 21, 1921 in Elkton, Todd County, Kentucky; and died September 1, 2004.  The son of James Jesup and Margaret (Hollins) Crouch.  He received his education in the Elkton Public Schools and then in 1938 entered Western Kentucky State College (Western Kentucky University), in Bowling Green, Kentucky, for his Pre-Veterinary course.  He then entered the College of Veterinary Medicine of Ohio State University in 1941, from which he graduated in Sept. 1944.  While at Ohio State University, he served in the Army Specialized Training Program of the Veterinary Corps.  On June 17, 1944, he married Elsie Louise Schneiter of Sugarcreek, Ohio.   After graduation, he and his new wife moved to La Center, Kentucky where he was employed by Dr. W.M. Coffee, a 1952 President of the A.V.M.A. 

On October 15, 1945 he moved to Glasgow, Kentucky, where he organized the Animal Clinic of Glasgow, Kentucky.  He helped organize the South Central Rural Telephone Cooperative and served a four year term as its first president.  He served as president of the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association in 1966 and was named Kentucky Veterinarian of the Year in 1974. Jim Crouch served as an elder and trustee of the Glasgow First Christian Church. While at the Animal Clinic of Glasgow his partners included Doctors Nelson A. Pott, Edwin A. Page, Bobby A. Guilfoil and Steve Webb.

In 1995 at the age of 74 he retired from veterinary practice, at which point in time he was the oldest practicing veterinarian in the state. In 1998 he founded By-products for Cattle and traveled across Kentucky, Tennessee and part of Georgia helping cattle farmers increase productivity with a cost-effective nutritional supplement for beef and dairy cows. When a someone questioned him on the wisdom of someone his age driving such long distances he replied with "What do you want me to do, sit on the front porch in a rocking chair, waiting to die?".  On the afternoon of September 1, 2004,while on one of these trips, he fell asleep while driving on Interstate-65 south of Elizabethtown, Kentucky and died a few hours later from chest injuries sustained in the single vehicle accident.

His wife Elsie Schneiter Crouch, known for her bright smile, died July 1, 2011 in Murray, KY. She was born on December 26, 1921 in Shanesville, Ohio to Frederick Karl Schneiter and Elise Lengacher Schneiter, both from Canton Bern, Switzerland. In 1939 Elsie graduated from Sugarcreek-Shanesville High School and in 1944 she graduated from Ohio State University in Nursing Education. Elsie married James Jessup Crouch, Jr. of Elkton, Kentucky in June 1944. In 1945 Elsie and Jim moved to Glasgow, Kentucky where he practiced veterinary medicine for fifty years. They celebrated their 60^th wedding anniversary before his untimely death in 2004.

• "Hard work never killed anybody"
• "Son, everything and everybody who lives around here has to give milk, lay eggs or work, you take your choice."
• "Son, be sure to marry a girl who is smart, that way each of your children will have a 50/50 chance of being smart."
• "Son, don't marry a girl for her money, but if she has money, it ain't no bad fault."
•  "You can marry more money in five minutes than you can make in a lifetime, but if you marry someone with money, you may spend the rest of your life earning every 'red cent'".

And his specific wisdom on naming children:

-"If people see the name in writing, can they pronounce it?"

-"If people hear the name spoken, can they spell it?"

-"If people see the name in writing, or hear the name spoken, do they know, 'That's a boy' or 'That's a girl'?"

-"Before you make a final decision on the name, check out the initials - make sure the initials don't spell out something less than desirable."

-His final guideline on naming children: "Don't name a son junior."  He said, "I'm James Jessup Crouch, Jr.  I've been called James, I've been called James Junior.  I've been called Junior.  And worst of all, I was called June."  Then he said, "Besides that, if you name your son Junior and he doesn't turn out well, then everybody knows who his father is."

His grandchildren remember him with a collection of words and phrases that concur special memories of the time they spent with Papaw:

• Long conversations about religion, history, politics (democratic, of course), science, and cattle feed; besides all the conversations that included computer help.
• Never complaining when we would give him popcorn for Christmas, and then ask to share.
• An emphasis on education as a road to success.
• A loud guffaw after yet, another political joke.
• A reminder to "study hard and stay away from fast men."
• Always ahead of the technological curve: contemplating, only a short time ago, on purchasing a laptop to use with presentations for a business he started at age 78.
• Purchasing an 800 number, so we could call him toll-free for advice on essays and life.
• Reminding me gently, as only Papaw could, to take a breath and talk slower.
• Helping him setup a website at the age of 83.
• Calls every Sunday to discuss the forum section of The Louisville KY Courier-Journal.
•  While picking green beans in the garden, having profound philosophical discussions.
• Continuous comments on how we had grown: both intellectually, as well as physically.
• Attending every momentous occasion.
• Caring for any person and any animal in need.
• Nature walks to see the latest bird's nests.
• Sharing Granny's brownies- with ice cream!
• Animal clinic visits to see kittens delivered.
• Going on calls to check on cattle.
• Little prompts to eat vegetables.
• Medicine for every bee sting and skinned knee.
• An insatiable curiosity to understand the world around him.
• A man with a deeply imbedded interest in the lives of all his grandchildren.