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Crowder-Hite-Crews Funeral Home & Crematory
Compassionately Serving the residents of South Hill and the surrounding Mecklenburg, Brunswick and Lunenburg Area since 1972.
When the time is needed, we are here.
Locally owned Business you can Trust.
Mrs. Ercelle Opal McDowell
12/03/1937 - 09/12/2026
Mrs. Ercelle Shell McDowell, of Alberta, VA, died Saturday, September 12, 2026 at her home. Ercelle is the widow of C.B. McDowell, Jr. and was a seamstress for Virginia Quilting and was a member of Warfield Baptist Church. Ercelle is survived by her children; Dixie Reames, of Blackstone, Debra Lewis of Alberta, and David Miller of Brodnax; a grandson who she raised, Jason Miller; a brother, Douglas Shell (Betty) as well as 5 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Ercelle is preceded in death by her parents, Clarence and Sally Shell; her siblings, Cecil Shell, Edna Cole, and Ernest Shell; and a grandson, Jeremy Lewis. A graveside funeral service will take place Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 2:00 at Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery in Alberta. The family suggests in lieu of flowers memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society at P.O. Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD 21741 or the American Heart Association at P.O. Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692. Messages of condolence may be made through our website at www.crowderhitecrews.com. Crowder – Hite – Crews Funeral Home is serving the McDowell family.
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About Us
At Crowder-Hite-Crews we’ve always been proud to say that we are large enough to serve and small enough to care. When you choose us, we consider this a sacred trust between your family and ours. We offer a full range of funeral service, whether for a traditional funeral or cremation, and we are able to assist families worldwide. In February of 2004 we installed a crematorium to better serve our cremation families. We now do all cremations in our facility, saving transport to another location for this service. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the cremation process.
Family owned and operated since 1972.
Situated on a 3-acre pastoral setting.
1st Place in Reader’s Choice for Funeral Service (17 years running).
Staff members are active in many civic organizations in the area, including Lions, Rotary, Moose Lodge, Masons, Ruritan, and Chamber of Commerce.
Owners are former Presidents of the Virginia Funeral Directors Association and Southside Funeral Directors Association.
We always help you apply for Social Security and Veterans benefits!
We also help with completing life insurance claim forms.
Crowder-Hite-Crews Funeral Home & Crematory
PO Box 422
1504 N. Mecklenburg Ave.
South Hill, VA 23970
Local (434) 447-7171
Fax (434) 447-3212
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Cousin
Debbie, I’m so sorry to hear of your mom’s passing. She was a very sweet and dear cousin of mine that I adored. Ercelle was always so good to me, Patricia and David. We stayed at your house or you’ll stayed at ours, when we were children. I always loved to come to aunt Sally’s to get to play with you’ll!! Love you, Bonnie