Mrs. Sandra Shope Crawford

Sandra Shope Crawford, 88, of Augusta, Georgia, passed peacefully at home on August 26, 2026. Born June 10, 1938, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to William A. and Dorothy L. Shope, Sandra lived a life shaped by music, faith, family, and a remarkable gift for sharing what she loved with others.

She married William G. Crawford on May 25, 1957, and together they shared 69 years of marriage. Bill encouraged Sandra as she pursued the many musical opportunities that molded her life.

To know Sandra was to be immersed in her world of music. She began serious voice study as a teenager and continued studying throughout her life, both in the United States and abroad. Sandra's principal teachers were Peggy Hughes, Helen Smith, Elizabeth Colson, and Walter Huff.

Her career included opera, choral music, solo performance, and church music. She sang with the Atlanta Opera Chorus, the Atlanta Symphony Chorus under Robert Shaw, and the Greg Colson Chorale; performed with the Atlanta Chamber Opera under Fletcher Wolfe; and was a soloist with the Choral Guild of Atlanta under William Noll. She also toured Italy and Mexico as soprano soloist with the Atlanta Boy Choir, and in 1982, she sang a solo for Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Sandra's love of performing began early. In a narrative she wrote for her Atlanta Opera scrapbook, she recalled that as a child, she and neighborhood friends would put on plays for anyone they could persuade to watch. Looking back on her life in opera, she wrote, "How lucky I have been to have the opportunity through opera to play the part of someone else all of my life."

Sandra's musical legacy also lives on in her students. Through her private studios in Atlanta, Warrenton, and Augusta, she taught others to discover and develop their own talents. She also served churches through solo and choral music, including 18 years as soprano soloist/children's choir director at Morningside Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

Sandra is survived by her husband, William G. Crawford; daughter Rebecca C. Graham and her husband, Robert Allan Graham; son Benson G. Crawford and his wife, Thressiama; grandchildren Jair, Joel, and Janell Erickson and her husband, Chris; niece Bonnie Dillard and her husband, Jim; and extended family, Judy Crawford and her daughters, Lori and Lisa, and the Carey and Kay Grant family.

Her voice has been stilled, but the music she fostered and cultivated in others continues to be heard.

There will be a graveside service conducted by Father Ray Whiting on Thursday, September 3, 11:00 a.m. at Scruggs Cemetery, Norwood, GA.

A memorial service will be held at Morningside Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA, on Saturday, September 19, at 4:00 p.m. Conducted by Father Ray Whiting. Music by Walter Huff & Choir.

Lowe Funeral Home 77 West Gibson Street Warrenton, Georgia 30828.

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