James Edwin "Jim" Crouch

Duffield, Virginia

James Edwin “Jim” Crouch, age 90, passed away after a short illness, Sunday, January 11, 2026, at Norton Community Hospital, Norton, Va.

Born on August 7, 1935, in Connersville, Ind., Jim was the son of Owen Lyn Crouch and Ruth Lucille Coonradt Crouch. He received his Doctor of Theology degree in 1970 at Eberhard-Karls-Universität in Tübingen, Germany, where he was also serving with the European Evangelistic Society as pastor of a small congregation. Teaching was always his first love, and he shared that passion as a professor of New Testament Studies at Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma, from 1968 to 1976, and later at Kwansei Gakuin University in Nishinomiya, Japan, from 1981 to 1985. From 1986 through 1998, Jim served as pastor of several congregations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). His authentic preaching style aimed to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Jim’s scholarly work ranged widely, from his doctoral dissertation on the household code in the Book of Colossians to an essay on National Chauvinism and the Life of Faith. He also contributed devotional writings for the ministry of Week of Compassion, the relief, refugee, and development mission fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). After retiring to Southwest Virginia, Jim continued to write and translate, completing several gospel commentaries from German into English and publishing a series of novels set in rural Appalachia. A man who found peace and purpose in the outdoors, Jim enjoyed working in the woods, cutting and splitting firewood for the woodstove, and loved to sit with Luna in front of the fire.

In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death by a grandson, Andrew Crouch.

Jim is survived by his wife, Margaret Crouch of Duffield, Va.; sister, Lorna Jeanne Crouch of St. Johns, Fla.; daughters, Susan Denise Crouch Hansen of Woodland, Wash., and Ann Marie Crouch of Navarre, Fla.; sons, David Alan Crouch of Milton, Fla., Jeffery Owen Crouch and Steven Lynn Crouch, both of Pensacola, Fla.; step-daughter, Roxie Conley of Winchester, Va.; nephew, Gary Hightower of St. Johns, Fla.; grandson, David Alan Crouch; granddaughters, Rachel Crouch, Kendra Mesa, Andrea Preilipper and Shea-Lynn Jarrett; great-niece, Abby Hightower; great-nephew, Nate Hightower; great-granddaughters, Hailey and Nevaeh Crouch, Kaira Mesa and Celia Thomas; and great-grandsons Hayden, Steven, and Mason Crouch, and Elio Mesa. Jim is also survived by his much beloved dog Luna, and by Luna’s determined nemesis, Kitty.

A Celebration of Jim’s Life is planned for the spring.

Contributions in Jim’s honor may be made to the Week of Compassion,P.O. Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206.

To share memories of James Edwin “Jim” Crouch, please visit www.seaverbrown.com. Care for Jim has been entrusted to Fraziers’ Seaver-Brown Funeral Service & Crematory, 237 East Main Street, Marion, VA 24354