Ruach - Congregation Beth Shalom

M E M B E R P R O F I L E: S H E L L Y C R O C K ER
Shelly Crocker, member of Beth Shalom since 1990, was
born in Georgia, raised in Minnesota,. Shelly fell in love
with her high school sweetheart, Sandy, and exchanged
vows in a commitment ceremony in her mother’s
backyard in 1984. She graduated from law school in
1990.
Shelly and Sandy moved to Seattle as a new couple in
1984. Shelly started conversion classes immediately at
Beth Shalom with Rabbi Ira Stone. She converted in 1986
and applied for membership in 1990. At that time their
daughter Hannah had been born, but the Beth Shalom
by-laws would not allow them to join as a family because
they were a lesbian couple. Mark Benjamin, president of
the board then, assured the couple that they would
change the by-laws. Good to his word, within a month,
the by-laws were changed and Shelly and Sandy were the
first lesbian family to join Beth Shalom.
Shelly and Sandy have two young adult children,
Hannah, 22 who graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and
Emma, 18 who is getting ready to start her freshman
year at University of Washington.
Shelly owns 2 law firms, a commercial bankruptcy firm
called Crocker Law Group and an individual consumer
debtor firm called Resolve Legal. When not engaged in
work family and friendships, Shelly likes to garden, cook
and read voraciously.
Shelly is a regular Shabbat shul-goer. She sees Shabbat
services as her ‘spiritual tune-up for the week.’ Weekly
prayer, study, meditation, and Kiddush with the Beth
Shalom community centers her. Her Mussar practice that
began several years ago after reading Rabbi Stone’s “A
Responsible Life” with a Beth Shalom study group, has
had the greatest impact on her Jewish practice. Her
whole way of being in the world as a Jew has been
shaped by her weekly hevruta, and her va’ad (8 other
group members).The group meets by video conference
every other week for one hour with Rabbi Stone to study
Mussar texts and another hour with Beulah Trey, the
group facilitator, to examine personal middot (character
traits).
As if one spiritual transformation were not enough, the
other transformative experience for Shelly was the Beth
Shalom AJWS (American Jewish World Service) weeklong
service trip to El Salvador. Witnessing the impact of
global inequality and injustice, Shelly became inspired to
engage in social action. She started the Global Study
Group, an after Kiddush discussion group, she went to
Olympia with Beth Shalom members to advocate against
homelessness and she joined the board of Building
Changes, a non-profit organization to end homelessness.
Updates
Shelly is pictured here on the right with her partner, Sandy Kibort.
Her advocacy work ignited a passion in her to run for
office. She is currently campaigning for the House of
Representatives in the 46th district in which the shul
resides.
While Shelly and Sandy have traveled to Israel multiple
times, the most significant two visits were during their
daughters’ respective high school semesters at TRY,
Tichon, Rama, Yerushalayim. These visits coincided with
Passover in Israel where the entire family celebrated
seder with Sandy’s 85-year-old aunt, a Holocaust
survivor, who immigrated to Israel from New York at 81-
years-old. An inspiration!
To newcomers of Beth Shalom Shelly believes the key to
building community is involvement, whether it is sitting
on a committee, volunteering to cook with Shabbas
Chefs, Mitzvah Corps, or attending adult education
classes. She especially values adult ed classes for the
ongoing learning with excellent teachers and the
opportunity to meet and befriend new people of all
different ages and walks of life.
One final note. Aside from being active on the board,
cemetery committee, social action and the capital
campaign in the past, Shelly has been a Gabbai
(usher/greeter) for almost six years. “Being the Gabbai is
the best job. You get to meet everyone, including out of
town guests, and newcomers. You have the privilege of
teaching folks how to put on a tallit and say the blessing
for the first time. You get to wish others a Shabbat
Shalom. And best of all, there is only one meeting a
year.”
R4