Jesse Van Crews. My husband has a quite a name, doesn’t he? The first name is easy. He was named for his maternal grandfather, Jesse Sands, a beautiful classic name. Jesse’s family never called him “Jesse”. It was always Van or Vannie. When Jesse started school he decided that Vannie was a sissy name and asked the teacher to please call him Jesse. So he has always been Jesse to friends, schoolmates and colleagues, but Vannie to family.

Jesse’s father was George Van Crews and gave Jesse his middle name. I asked Joyce, Jesse’s mother, how George came to be named Van and she explained, “Honey, my mother-in-law, Minnie, said she named him for Van Cliburn.” Years later when I thought about this response it didn’t seem logical. No one in Jesse’s family listened to classical music. His grandparents, Joe (aka Peter) and Minnie Crews, were not sitting around the radio listening to Van Cliburn play Rachmaninoff. Especially since his father George was born in 1923 and Van Cliburn wasn’t born until 1934. So, where did the name Van come from?

Jesse’s great-aunt Sallie Crews married Van Short in 1916. Aunt Sallie and Uncle Van were kind and generous with Sallie’s ten siblings and their many children. Van had a good job with American Viscose in Roanoke and Sallie was a realtor. When times were hard, Van and Sallie often lent a helping hand. Their daughter, Virginia, was close to her cousins in Richmond and the Richmond family members were always welcome at the Short’s home in Roanoke. It’s almost certain Jesse was named for Aunt Sallie’s beloved husband, Van. I believe Jesse has lived up to his namesake’s reputation for industry, kindness and generosity.