Harriet Spring Critchlow

Harriet Spring Critchlow died on June 29, 2018. Aptly nicknamed “Happy,” she enjoyed the 96 years of her long life to the fullest. Born in Easton, June 5, 1922, she was the second child of Royce Riker Spring, who was also born in Easton, and Harriet Deyo Spring from New York City. She grew up at “Harleigh” and remembered roller-skating with her brother on the Oxford road when it was first paved. A graduate of St. Mary’s School in Peekskill, NY, Happy recalled the convenience of boarding the train at Trappe Station on the Oxford Road and traveling to St. Mary’s. While pursuing her degree in Early Childhood Education at Wheelock College in Boston, Happy became engaged to fellow Talbot County resident, John (Tom) Critchlow. Tom joined the war effort as a US Navy submariner. In 1943, his submarine was sunk. He and the crew were considered lost since the Japanese did not report their capture. Tom endured over two years as a Japanese prisoner of war. During this time, Happy showed her own strength by completing her degree in 1944 and teaching at the Nightingale-Bamford School in New York City. When Tom returned home, they married on December 8, 1945. Happy applied her early childhood education skills to becoming a loving, wonderful mother to two daughters. She loved to laugh with them, to inspire them, and to teach them practical skills such as how to row a dinghy. She encouraged their education, curiosity, as well as their love of horses, dogs, cats, and sailboats. At home and on their many family vacations, she and Tom gave their girls a wonderful mixture of freedom and clear boundaries. Always available to her family, Happy still found time to serve on the local board of the Maryland Children’s Aid Society, the Christ Church Day School, and the Country School. She was a life-long member of Christ Church, Easton, serving on the vestry, Altar Guild, and the Board of Episcopal Church Women. She was president of the Harbor Club, the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore, and the Tidewater Camera Club. Among her many interests were gardening, birding, photography, sailing, and travel. As a volunteer for Head Start in 1969, Happy saw the need for affordable, full-time day care for local working families. In 1970, she was a pioneer in helping create the county’s first non-profit, fully licensed day care center. She and her friend, Janice S. Adkins, led the development of what became the Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers from eight children in St. Mark’s church to more than 350 children in five centers. A lifetime honorary member of the Board of Directors, Happy was active in the day-to-day operation of the centers for eighteen years, serving as president and treasurer while developing a strong volunteer base in the community. For her work with the Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers, she was the recipient of the Wheelock College Alumni Anniversary Award in 1993, the 2005 Women and Girls Fund Award, and The J. McKenny Willis, Jr. Community Service Award in 2008. In 1996, her beloved Tom passed away after 51 years of marriage. Happy then moved from the country to Cooke’s Hope, and in 2011, she moved to Londonderry. She is survived by two daughters, Margaret Critchlow (John Boquist) of Sooke, British Columbia, and Spring Swinehart (Peter) of Boyds, MD. Happy delighted in her four grandchildren, Sean and Channing Rodman, and Christian and Emily Swinehart; and four great-grandchildren, Jasmine and Isaac Rodman, and Celina and Aniela Elzanowska. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and their families. She especially enjoyed visits in her later years from Mary Day Kent and Katherine Kent (Brown) and their families. Her brother, Preston G. Spring, and her sister, Deborah S. Kent, both preceded her in death. Talbot County was Happy’s home until 2013 when she moved to Integrace Buckingham’s Choice in Adamstown, MD, to be near her daughter Spring. Happy embraced her nickname to the end; she was always grateful to the nurses and staff who cared for her, loving to her family, and able to enjoy a good laugh. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, at 11 a.m. at Christ Church St. Peter’s Parish, 111 S. Harrison Street, Easton, MD. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Christ Church or the Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers, 133 N. Washington Street, Easton, MD 21601.

Harriet Spring Critchlow

June 5, 1922 - June 29, 2018