CROOMS, Mary Elizabeth     Age 92 of Detroit

Mary Elizabeth Love enjoyed cooking, travel, glamour and high style. What gave her the most joy was her two daughters, Rena and Renata.

Elizabeth, as she was commonly called, was born June 28, 1927, in Sedalia, Kentucky, the youngest and sixth daughter of Sumner and Janie Love.

Upon graduation from high school, Mary Elizabeth followed her older sister Gussie Love and ​then-husband William Paul Perry to the booming city of Detroit​, where b​lack businesses were emerging quickly and jobs were plentiful. ​The sisters were employed at several black businesses after World War II. In later years, she worked as a greeter at the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township, MI, for more than 25 years.

Mary Elizabeth met and married Mike Miller Jr. in the early 1940s, and the couple welcomed daughter Rena Elizabeth. After the marriage ended, Mary Elizabeth emerged as a strong single mother who occasionally worked two jobs to make ends meet. She and Rena both grew up very quickly in an ever-changing, fast-growing city. She always traveled home to Kentucky nearly every summer, leaving Rena to spend time with her grandparents.

In the 1960s, Elizabeth met, fell in love with, and married James C. Crooms of Detroit. From their union, they had one daughter, Renata Pilar.

James and Elizabeth purchased their Detroit home in 1969, and the home still belongs to the family today. The couple were active members of St. John's Lutheran Church, where Renata attended Kindergarten through eighth grade. Individually, they each accepted Christ at an early age and provided a sound foundation for both of their girls through adulthood.

Mary Elizabeth was a very devoted and organized wife and mother. A fantastic cook, she was best remembered for her delicious apple and lemon meringue pies. She was avid gardener, fastidiously tending to the beautiful flowers in her large yard every year. And she loved to travel, jetting to Chicago for weekend trips, spending summers in the family cabin in Canada, and living as a "snowbird" during the winter months in South Florida.

She stressed education to her daughters. She wanted Rena and Renata to get a college education, no matter the cost. Often, she would say, "Education is your ticket to the next level, not a man."

Mary Elizabeth died peacefully on Sunday, April 19, 2020, at Medilodge of Taylor, a long-term care facility in Taylor, MI. She was 92.

Her husband James Crooms preceded her in death on October 13, 1996, as well as daughter Rena Miller on October 3, 2018. Her parents and sisters – Lorene Guthrie, Ilene Wells, Maggie Perry, Gussie Wright, Lavern Murrell – also preceded her in death.

Mary Elizabeth is survived by her daughter Renata Pilar Crooms; special friends Miles Akins and Madison Thomas; and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins.