From These Beginnings: Wilmington College 1946-1969

James Marshall Crews was born on July 4, 1919 in McKenzie, Tennessee. He attended Bethel College in McKenzie, where he was awarded a baseball scholarship. After graduating in 1942, Crews was sent to Officer's Training Camp at Camp Davis in Onslow County. He then was assigned to the Pacific Theater during World War II. After the war, he enrolled in a Master's program at George Peabody State College for Teachers (now part of Vanderbilt University.) While there, he met Margaret Leslie Mackintosh whom he married. Upon completion of his degree, he and Margaret moved to Wilmington, North Carolina.

In 1949, Crews began teaching at the newly formed Wilmington College as one of its first faculty members. In 1953, he became the Registrar. Over the years, he held several positions including Assistant Dean, Admissions Director, Academic Dean, and served longest as Dean of Students. He received his PhD from North Carolina State University in 1966 and retired from UNCW in 1981. In 1989, the unviersity named a street after Crews, and in 2003, the J. Marshall Crews Distinguished Faculty Award was established.

Crews was a member of St. Andrews Covenant Presbyterian Church, where he served as a deacon and elder. He and his wife had four children.

Crews died on April 13, 2010.