Many people will remember Neville Crew OAM who sadly passed away at the weekend, aged 88. Neville came to UNE in 1958 to take up the position of Research Fellow in Economics. Neville met Jenny Lloyd at Melbourne University and they were married on the 20th February 1954 in Melbourne and they had a family of five children.
A brief outline of Neville Crew’s career at UNE includes:
- 10 February 1958 – Appointed Research Fellow in Economics.
- 14 August 1961 – Appointed lecturer in Adult Education
- 13 November 1967 – Promoted to Senior Lecturer from 1 January 1968
- 1979 – Acting Director of Dept of Continuing Education
- 1985 – Acting Director of Dept of Continuing Education
- 31 July 1986 – Retired
Neville’s role in adult education is noted in the book The New England Experience.
Neville was a UNE Alumni Association Life Member and in 1995 he was officially recognised for his work in the awarding of the OAM for service to adult education and community development programmes.
Neville was an active community member serving on local Boards including Armidale Hospital and Banbai Land Enterprises. He was also a member of the Armidale City Band for almost 40 years, and facilitated two local current affairs classes for the almost 30 years since his retirement from UNE. Neville was driven by the power of human potential and had active interests in politics, history and railways.
Neville is survived by five children, Catherine, Megan, David, Bronwen and Victor and grandchildren, Meredith, Dale, Elizabeth, Deborah, Phoebe, Hannah, Steven, Laura, Ellen, Geoffrey, Shania, Curtis, Tristen, Jacoebi and great-grandson, Steven.
A celebratory service to honour his life will be held this Thursday 18th December 2014 near the rotunda in Central Park, Armidale and will run from 11am till 1pm. All are invited to attend.
We would like to thank the Armidale Community for their support and kind wishes on the occasion of our father’s (Neville Crew) passing.
The celebration of his life at Central Park was truly a special event, and we owe a tremendous thank you to the Armidale City Band for performing on the day. Not only would Neville have been proud of them playing in the Rotunda but hearing them playing with such skill, harmony, and emotion made it particularly special.
Neville gave us all the tools to continue our own education; gave us the confidence to trust our own opinion; and taught us to always question the status quo. We hope you all continue to live with his lessons.
Kind regards
Catherine, Megan, David, Bronwen and Victor