September 5, 1930 – June 24, 2026
Crownie Kurian Billik, beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, mentor, and tireless champion of civic engagement, passed away peacefully at the age of 95 in the home she so loved.
Born on September 5, 1930, in Detroit, Michigan, to Roy and Ethel Kurian, Crownie was one of five remarkable sisters. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 62 years, Martin, and by her sisters Gloria, Nanette, and Marion. She is survived by her daughters, Tammara and Shoshana; her sister, Lucille; her grandsons, Eli and Ben; and many treasured nieces and nephews.
Crownie earned her undergraduate degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in Social Work from Wayne State University. Early in her career, she devoted herself to helping young people and families in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving as Teen Director at the Jewish Community Center before becoming Regional Director for the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
While living in Cambridge, she met Martin, who was in a mathematics PhD program at MIT. After his graduation, they married in 1959 and shortly thereafter moved to the Bay Area, settling in Los Altos.
For more than five decades, Crownie dedicated herself to strengthening civic participation through the League of Women Voters. She held numerous leadership positions at both the local and state levels, but her greatest joy came from mentoring others. She trained and encouraged generations of League leaders throughout California, believing that informed citizens and engaged volunteers were the foundation of a healthy democracy. She often said that what she loved most was helping others grow into leaders themselves.
Her decades of service were recognized in 2015 when she received the John Gardner Award from the Los Altos Community Foundation for her outstanding contributions to her local community. Friends and colleagues admired her thoughtful leadership, gentle manner, and remarkable ability to encourage others to discover strengths they didn’t know they possessed.
She was an accomplished ceramic artist, a deep-water running enthusiast, an avid tea drinker, and a gifted and creative chef who published The Brunch Cookbook in the 1970s. Crownie’s famous apple strudel and scones were loved by all. World travel was another great passion, and she and Martin explored many countries and cultures together throughout their years together..
Crownie loved entertaining friends and family in her home; creating beautiful and sometimes quirky ceramic works; and approaching life with curiosity, positivity, and enthusiasm.
Above all, Crownie cherished her family time. She was a devoted and loving mother, grandmother, and sister who took genuine interest in the lives of others. Her kindness, quiet wisdom, generosity, patience, and enduring optimism will be profoundly missed by us all.
The family requests that memorial donations be made to the League of Women Voters of Mountain View–Los Altos, 2370 Walsh Avenue, Suite F, Santa Clara, CA 95051.
