| Name at birth: | Chrystal Irene Tosh |
| Date of birth: | 02/05/1913 |
| Place of birth: | Forsyth, Missouri, U.S.A. |
| Date of death: | 12/27/2005 |
| Place of death: | Hollywood, California, U.S.A. |
| Resting place: | Seneca, Missouri, U.S.A. |
| Submitted by: | T. Scott Montgomery (izmulsa@earthlink.net) |
Family Star Goes Supernova at Age of 92
Chrystal Irene Tosh, of Hollywood, California, passed away Tuesday, December 27, 2005, at the age of 92. She would have been 93 on February 5th.
We, her family, know “Aunt Chrystal” Tosh for her sarcastic tongue, her guess-what-it-is Christmas gifts, her geographical location in Hollywood, her late dog “Leaping Lena,” and her uncanny ability to put people and problems in their proper perspectives through humor.
Aunt Chrystal was born February 5, 1913, in Forsyth, Missouri—-the youngest daughter of Martha Allafair “Allie” Brisendine and John Wesley Tosh.
Her father passed away when Aunt Chrystal was only two years old. She had four sisters and one brother. Three of the sisters—-Beulah, Dorothy, and Docia—-died in childhood. Leila Gladys Shackelford and Forrest Churchill Tosh survived to adulthood.
As a child, Aunt Chrystal lived in Missouri and Arkansas. She later attended Northeastern State Teachers’ College in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and The University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma (not Kendall College, as Aunt Chrystal would have been only 7 years old in 1920).
Aunt Chrystal lived in Denver, Colorado, for a short time—-working with her mother taking care of children.
Aunt Chrystal moved to Hollywood in 1940 with her mother, Allie Tosh—-spending most of her years there as a companion, housekeeper, and cook for prominent Los Angeles area ladies of gentry Sue Straub and Florence Stirrat.
Aside from meeting various Hollywood celebrities in public, obtaining their autographs, and exchanging recipes with Charles Nelson Reilly on the set of “Match Game”—-Aunt Chrystal’s other connection with the Hollywood community had been her stock in Paramount. Originally spending $10 per share for ten shares in the up-and-coming Bliss Company in the 1960s, she watched her investment grow as companies changed hands. As Gulf + Western purchased Bliss, her stock transferred to Paramount—-which is now owned by Viacom. Aunt Chrystal had sold her remaining shares in Viacom over the last decade.
Aunt Chrystal may not have received her star on Hollywood Boulevard, but her 1956 Ford Fairlane made an appearance in the 1968-1980 CBS series “Hawaii Five-0”-—in a 1975 episode entitled “Honor is an Unmarked Grave.” Thanks to a neighbor who worked on the program, Aunt Chrystal’s Fairlane received a payment of $100 to appear in a close-up shot.
Aunt Chrystal “dabbled” [her words] in writing. She had an agent and had published short stories in “Writer’s Digest.”
The “great” Aunt Chrystal is survived by her nephews, Leon and Bob Shackelford, and her niece, Nancy Spangler—-as well as six great-nephews, six great-nieces, seven great-great nephews, seven great-great nieces, three great-great-great nephews and nieces, eleven nephews- and nieces-in-law, five great nephews- and nieces-in-law, six great-great-great nephews- and nieces-in law, and three cats!
Aunt Chrystal is also survived by her long-time friends and neighbors Mattie Poggioli, Bert Larsson, Aurora Alea, and Richard Mentzer.
At her request, Aunt Chrystal’s remains were cremated—-to be buried along the foot of her mother’s grave in Seneca, Missouri, probably some time in the spring of 2006.
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