Crystal Gail Dicus

Crystal Gail Dicus left this world too soon.  She tried her best to make it a better place for all creatures.  Crystal loved so many people and was loved by so many, but she lives on brightest in those that loved her most. Her husband, Jacob Dicus along with his family, father and mother, Jerry Dicus and Joy Dicus née Becker, sibling-in-laws, Jeremy  (Rachelle) Dicus, Jamie Dicus, and Amanda (Jeff) Rose, nieces and nephew Grace and Ella Dicus, Lilly, Haylee, and Stefan Rose, remembers when they first met: In 1996, I was working at a pizza shop with Crystal. She asked me if I wanted to go to a concert with some friends because she had an extra ticket. I said yes, and asked her out soon after. Since 1997, we have not spent more than a month apart at a time. Through long distances, health emergencies, life’s triumphs, and those small things that couples share, we spent our lives together. We made friends in new places, ventured out to see wilderness and sprawl, tried to make people laugh and feel welcome, and loved the group of family and friends that surrounded us. She showed everyone and every animal she met kindness. If you knew Crystal, please have a cup of tea in her memory, and do something strange, unexpected, and kind for those around you.

Crystal will always be loved by her father Jack Hardesty. He was so proud of her, and to be her father:  Crystal was a unique and genuine person, and not afraid to be her own person.  She was deeply loved by me and so many others.

Crystal’s mother Sandra Hardesty née Heneger remembers Crystal as one in a million:  There was no one like her in the universe. She was loving, kind, tender-hearted, generous, thoughtful and supportive. We had a spiritual connection, often thinking or saying the same thing at the same time.  Crystal made me a better person.  Not only were we mother and daughter, but best of friends. I was greatly blessed and honored to be her mother.

Crystal is fondly remembered by her sister, Teri Bakies, her brother-in-law Joseph Bakies, and her nephews, Jacoby McCormick and Collin McCormick.  Teri remembers and charishes all those deeply personal memories that are just everyday life when they happen, but mean everything now:  We sat on a blanket in front of the console TV, watching cartoons and eating cereal on Saturday mornings. We played Barbies and rode our bicycles on the sidewalks that were anything but level. We practiced the alphabet late at night when we were supposed to be sleeping. We made blanket forts with the kitchen chairs and brought EVERY stuffed toy we had downstairs. We held hands walking to school. We roller skated in the funeral parking lot. We played at the park and I spun the merry-go-round so fast Crystal flew off. We rode our sleeping bags down the stairs and laughed like there was no tomorrow.  We watched The Wizard of OZ every year we were together and Mama made us popcorn and added in potato chips! For twenty three years, we passed the same birthday card to each other. We grew together and then apart simply because of our age difference. Only to bring it back together and discover we are so much more alike than we realized.  Our love of all things natural and pure, from the bees pollinating, to the fish skeletons on the beach. EVERYTHING has beauty to us. We understood each other on so many levels that explanations were never necessary. Our time together is timeless and cherished to the fullest. Although Crystal is gone from this Earth, she is alive in my heart. Always my sister — forever my friend.

Crystal tried to be kind, genuine, and welcoming throughout her life.  She did not want to have a funeral service, but if you would like to memorialize her in a way she would have appreciated, please consider making a donation to

LASA Farm Animal Sanctuary

in Wooster, Ohio, or Mid-Ohio Animal Welfare League. Or, go to a local animal shelter or rescue and adopt a pet — all the better with her if it is a spider, pig, or a crow, especially a crow; dogs and cats are okay, too.