(1920 – 2015)
Mrs. Ethel Inez Crossley McDaniel retired with 30 years of service with the Expanded Foods and Nutrition Program (EFNEP). She was one of twenty Program Assistants working throughout Jefferson County teaching basic nutrition to limited-resource families. Her life journey began on September 7, 1920, in Vernon, Alabama. She was one of five children of Mr. and Mrs. David Crossley.
Mrs. McDaniel attended elementary school in Vernon, where she participated in adventures that later became the basis of childhood stories often requested at family gatherings.
She met her husband and soulmate while he was playing guitar at a local dance. She married David McDaniel in 1938 and remained happily married for 46 years.
She worked a swing shift at Stockham Valve, where she made large anti-aircraft shell casing during World War II. After the war, she studied nursing briefly but later worked in nutrition services at University Hospital until she became an EFNEP Program Assistant. Her former supervisor’s fondest memories include:
- Participating in training sessions that always included some type of cooking demonstration to be used with clients. Of course, this also meant sampling the good food, too.
- How much she loved her work. Helping others was part of the job, but it was also just part of her nature. She viewed her work as a ministry.
- Riding with her on client visits in her great big car, where only the top of her head was visible.
- Knowing that wherever she traveled she would most likely wear some type of hat, usually cocked to one side.
- She never met a stranger and could talk with just about anyone.
- Going to Auburn to receive her 30-year recognition presented by Dr. Gaines Smith, Extension Director. She received an Auburn watch and on the way back home, they stopped at Wal-Mart to buy a battery. She loved to wear that watch.
The Alpha Pi Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi honors and remembers Mrs. Ethel Inez Crossley McDaniel by placing her name on the dedicatory plaque at the Memorial Chapel.
Chapel Plaque Inscription Number: 603
