March 24, 1944 July 26, 2013

Elmer P. Crow, Jr., an elder of the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho, died Friday, July 26, 2013, after saving his grandson from drowning.

Crow, 69, jumped into the Snake River near Lewiston after the seven-year-old fell in. He was able to lift his grandson out of the water and boaters retrieved the boy. Crow, however, did not survive.

Im so proud of my fathers final act of heroism that I have to share it with the world, Crows son Jeremy said on a memorial Facebook page. His final act of lifting my nephew above the water for those last few moments was what saved his grandsons life but cost him his own.

Crow was instrumental in efforts to increase runs of the lamprey, a subsistence food for tribes in the Pacific Northwest, through his involvement with the Nez Perce Fish Hatchery.

Crow was known to many Wallowa County residents. He demonstrated traditional fishing techniques and displayed the fishing nets he made during the annual Wallowa Lake Kokanee Festival. He was recently part of the tribal group that re-introduced lamprey in the Minam River.

Elmer is survived by his wife, Lynda; children Jeremy, Jarrod, Jayson and Jamie; six grandchildren; his chosen mother, Beula Worthen; his sisters, Joyce Admyers, Elizabeth Crow, Bernie Lasarte, and Brenda Moses; and his brothers Reggie Crow, Jeff Crow, Louie Lasarte, Raymond Lasarte, Billy Henry, and Emmit Taylor.

Preceding Elmer in death were his parents Elmer Crow Sr. and Hattie Lasarte; and siblings Wendell Crow, Gregory Crow, Ed Crow and Annie Lasarte.

A memorial service was held Aug. 1 in Lapwai, Idaho.