Crystal Anne Crowley

Crystal Anne Crowley (Epple) was born in Denver on January 14th, 1975, to William Eugene Epple and Linda Sue Sargent Epple and raised on the family wheat farm in eastern Colorado. She helped the family during the summers, often driving tractors, and riding along the semis to the Roggen Elevator to drop off wheat harvested from the fields. Crystal loved the farm animals, especially the cats, and growing up free to explore nature.  She loved learning and skipped third grade to complete her primary education before attending and graduating from Weld Central High School in 1992.  Crystal made lifelong friends during her school years where she participated in gymnastics and cheerleading.  A childhood highlight was the post-harvest, annual camping trips to the south fork of the White River. 

She had always wanted to work in the medical field due to her desire to help others, and in the fall of 1992, she started studying Kinesiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU), a degree which she completed in the spring of 1996. Crystal became a lifelong CU Buff fan, passing on the traditions of the black and gold to her children.

It was at CU that she met and fell in love with her future husband, Bob Crowley, whom she married on May 2nd, 1998. They lived in Denver for several years and in 2002 she started medical school at CU to get her master’s degree to become a Physician Assistant (PA). Shortly before she graduated in 2004, she became a mother for the first time, giving birth to her daughter Elaina Grace on May 1st. The family moved to Thornton, CO and she was blessed two more times with her daughters Caroline Elise on September 27th, 2006, and Amelia Rose on September 29th, 2008. Eventually the family moved to Broomfield where they built a house, created a home, and raised their children over the last 10 years. She and Bob’s lives revolved around their growing family and the children’s activities.  Crystal valued family traditions and creating beauty in her family’s home and gardens. 

After finishing her degree, she worked a long career at Children’s Hospital in the emergency department in Broomfield and Denver. She said that each sick child before her was like her own child. She excelled as a PA in this environment but later decided to change her focus and practice functional medicine where she bloomed. She completed a certification and started work at Flatirons Functional Medicine where she worked as a practitioner for several months before being forced to leave due to her illness.

Crystal had a passion for fitness and travel. You would often see her at the gym lifting weights, on a bike or hiking trail, and enjoying all the beauty the world offers. A meticulous planner, she organized several trips a year that took her and her family to places all over the world. She loved to camp and often took the family camper on many mountain trips when the girls were young.  She was an incredible cook and baker, providing amazing meals on a nightly basis, as well as making birthday cakes that are legendary in our family. She had a strong love of reading, gardening and planting, camping and hiking in the forest, and a love for all animals, especially the family pets. She felt a special connection with hawks and told the family if you ever see a hawk, you will see me.

In February of 2013 she was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. She fiercely and relentlessly fought this disease until her passing on September 5th, 2025.

Crystal is remembered by her husband Bob, and their daughters Elaina, Caroline and Amelia. She also leaves behind her parents Bill and Linda Epple, as well as her older sister Michele Turner and her husband Wade, and her younger brother Stephen Epple and his wife Amber.

Services will be held at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church at 12099 Lowell Blvd, Broomfield CO at 4:00 pm on September 19th, 2025. It was requested by Crystal that everyone wear bright colored clothing.

Suggested Donations in Crystal’s memory:

Denver Botanic Gardens, 909 York St., Denver, CO  80206.  Crystal made many visits to the Gardens, where the beauty was healing.

Broomfield Mamie Doud Eisenhower Public Library, 3 Community Park, Broomfield, CO  80020.  Crystal loved to read, often over 50 books a year.  She spent countless hours and worked here as a volunteer. 

Cross of Christ Lutheran Church Youth Group Ministry, 12099 Lowell Blvd., Broomfield, CO 80020. Crystal and Bob’s girls participated in youth group camps and activities, serving underserved communities across the nation.

*If you plan to order flowers for Crystal's memorial service, please have them delivered to the church no earlier than 1:00PM Friday, September 19th, upon church faculty request*

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