Sister says CPD Officer Jim Crowley "lived in service of others"
CHICAGO (CBS) — Officer Jim Crowley was passionate about becoming a Chicago police officer, but he was injured in the line of duty 37 years ago and will now be buried on September 4th, 37 years to the day after suffering a traumatic brain injury on the job.
"This holds such a special place in Jim's heart," said Beth Carter.
Carter shares memories of her brother, Chicago Police Officer Jim Crowley, in the gym at Mount Carmel High School.
"This is where he had his first freshman day mass. He also had his physical education classes here. He was on the track team and trained inside of this gym," Carter said.
Crowley, a track standout and class of 1983 graduate, always wanted to become a Chicago police officer.
"He was six classes short of a double major in criminal justice and political science when the opportunity to join the Chicago Police Department became available to him," Carter said. "Jim always lived in service of others, and Jim saw that as an opportunity to continue that way of life."
On Sept. 4, 1987, Crowley worked on his scheduled day off. He was in this squad car with Officer William Morrison when a drunk driver hit them.
Morrison was killed. Crowley, with just one year and one month on the job, suffered a traumatic brain injury, leaving him unable to walk. He was only 22 years old.
"That tragedy changed the course of lives in two different families," Carter said.
Early in his rehab, when he had breaks, Crowley would always ask his sister to bring him to the Mount Carmel High School parking lot. She said it's where he found peace, comfort, and strength.
"I think that Jim really used Mount Caramel and those visits here as a touchstone, his way of just being reminded of the quintessential important elements in his life and those which would carry him forward until he died," Carter said.
Last Thursday, Crowley passed away in his sleep at the group home where he lived for the past 23 years in Texas.
He received a hero's welcome in Chicago as members of the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation gathered to remember one of their own.
At the age of 21, Carter became her brother's legal guardian. His injury inspired her to become a nurse. She said her brother would always live on through the work she does every single day.