Dallas Philanthropist Passing
Margaret Crow, philanthropist and wife of Trammell Crow, dies at 94
Margaret Crow, wife of Dallas-based real estate developer Trammell Crow, died April 11; she was 94.
Margaret filled many roles: hostess, civic leader, wife and mother. One of her most notable achievements was her role in helping to create the Trammell and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art in 1998, located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. The Crows amassed their collection of foreign art from their frequent excursions around the world.
She and her husband attended state dinners at the White House as the guests of five different presidents. They welcomed world leaders, foreign dignitaries, business associates and close friends into their home throughout the years.
Margaret had only one phone number for the entire 94 years of life and lived in only two homes three blocks apart in Highland Park.
The only child of Dallas merchant E. B. Doggett and his wife, Lillian, Margaret was a graduate of the Hockaday School for Girls, class of 1937. She lost her parents at age 19 when they were killed in an automobile accident traveling home to Dallas after a visiting her at the University of Texas.
After a Hockaday-sponsored tour of Europe, she and her classmates were part of an event that made history at the beginning of World War II. On September 3, 1939, the SS Athena was torpedoed and sunk by the Germans off the British coast, and Margaret and her friends had to be rescued from lifeboats hours later as they drifted in the Atlantic.
Margaret married Trammell, a commissioned naval officer, on August 15, 1942. Shortly thereafter, he began his commercial real estate career, leading to the creation of the Trammell Crow Company, a diversified commercial real estate company. The couple had six children. She supported a variety of charitable, civic and educational causes in Dallas and abroad.
"If but one word could be used to describe Margaret, it would be 'lady,'" said Jim Carreker, a former CEO of Trammell Crow Company and Wyndham Hotels and a longtime family friend. "She embodied every aspect of the word; she was educated, gracious and tirelessly supportive of her family and her community. Margaret will surely be missed, but just as surely, she will never be forgotten."
Mrs. Crow was preceded in death by Trammell, who died on January 14, 2009, and her oldest son, Robert Crow, who died on April 16, 2011.
She is survived by five children — Howard Crow; Harlan Crow and his wife, Katherine; Trammell S. Crow; Lucy Billingsley and her husband, Henry; and Stuart Crow and his wife, Shirley — along with daughter-in-law Nancy Crow, 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
A public memorial service is planned at the Highland Park United Methodist Church, at a date and time to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Margaret and Trammell Crow Chair for Alzheimer’s and Geriatric Research at Southwestern Medical Foundation in Dallas, the Trammell and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, or the Hockaday School for Girls.
