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Ethel Crisera • 1944 - 2009 She was born Ethel Mary Casey on Sept. 27, 1944, in New Orleans, LA. She grew up in Portland where she attended elementary and high school. She graduated from St. Louis University in St. Louis, MO, with a degree in psychology. She returned to Portland to live and was employed as a social worker for Multnomah County. On Oct. 14, 1967, she married Dr. Crisera in Portland where they lived and he practiced pathology until they came to Minot. He continued his practice in Minot until his retirement and their return to Portland. During her years in Minot, Mrs. Crisera was active in a number of community affairs. She was twice a candidate for the North Dakota Legislature and served as a Republican district chairman. A devoted patron of the arts, she was a member of the Minot Symphony Association, the Minot Symphony League and the Minot Community Opera, which she served as president for several years. She was a member of the Minot State University Board of Regents and had worked on fundraising for the remodeling of the auditorium at MSU. Other groups in which she was active in Minot include The Rotary Club of Minot. (She was the first woman member of that organization.) She also was a member of the North Dakota Medical Auxiliary and the Minot Country Club where she served a term as women's division president. As a member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Minot, she served on the church vestry and as senior warden. She also was a member of the Salvation Army Community Advisory Board which serves the local Army church and store. She was very active in support of the Armyás work during several floods in Minot, at its annual Thanksgiving dinner for the needy, and in its annual Christmas appeal and food box distribution. For over ten years, Ethel produced a cooking column for The Minot Daily News. She covered food preparation, food history, nutrition and many ethnic cuisines. The articles were very popular and well received. Many of her recipes remain favorites in Minot area households ­ recipes that reflect the Criseras' hospitality. Their home was frequently the center of social gatherings where good food was the centerpiece of many a good evening. Over a period of several years, she was able to draw on her background as a social worker to assist Minot area courts in protecting children when needed in divorces and other situations. She is survived by: her husband Richard, of Portland, and her daughter, Lauren (Keith) Gimpel, Idaho Falls, ID. Her funeral will be Friday, March 20, 2009, at 11 a.m. in Christ Church Episcopal Parish, Lake Oswego, OR. Reviewal will be at Finley Sunset Mortuary in Portland Thursday, March 19, from 4 to 7 p.m. The family prefers memorials to scholarships at the University
of Portland, Portland, OR, or to the Minot State University Board
of Regents. To sign the online guest register
for Ethel |