Crysta came to Fairhope Christian Church about six months ago at the invitation of Marki Machlan whom she met while working at Thomas Hospital.  Crysta said she had been praying to find a church home and came to sing in our choir.  She felt at home here and decided to stay.  Choir members say her easy-going personality and ability to ask for input from all the choir members is very pleasing.

But to go back to the beginning, Crysta was born in Michigan and attended Hartford high school where her favorite class was English and favorite activity was that of a cheerleader.  She grew up in the Church of Christ, a very fundamentalist church, which did not allow musical instruments.  Crysta received her degree in music at Harding College in Searcy, Arkansas and was active in the college choir.  This choir took Christian music all over the US and Europe.

Crysta’s parents have been married 56 years and enjoy summers in Michigan and winters in Florida.  She has 2 younger brothers who live in Michigan and ten nieces and nephews.  She also has one three year old granddaughter who lives in Austin, Texas.

As Crysta was growing up, she felt her grandmother was the most influential person in her life.  Grandmother always lived nearby, both in Michigan and later in Arkansas, and was just “there” for whenever Crysta needed her.  It was her grandmother who took her to church from the time she was a very young child.

While in college she met her first husband and they were married the day after his graduation.  They have two grown sons.  Crysta and her husband  moved to Fairhope in 1977 and later divorced.

While living in this area, Crysta attended Mobile College’s School of Nursing, graduated in 1992, and worked as a Registered Nurse.  Crysta has worked at Thomas Hospital for the past five years, and loves her work in the Medical Records-Cancer Registry.

She and her present husband, Alan, married in 2001.  They love to travel and have two aquariums full of fish which they refer to as his and hers.  For fun at home Crysta likes to read, especially biographies.