Kay B. Crooker was a professional and volunteer advocate for Houston’s quality of life for more than thirty years. Appointed to the City of Houston Planning and Zoning Commission in 1984 and reappointed by five different Mayors, Crooker retired in 2008. As a former president of Scenic Houston (a collection in the Houston History Archives) and board member with The Park People (Houston History Archives), Katy Prairie Conservancy, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Quality of Life Coalition, and Trees for Houston, Crooker was key in the development of Houston’s Tree and Shrub ordinance . Crooker was a strong advocate for zoning and was active in the most recent, unsuccessful campaign to enact zoning in Houston in 1993.

As a neighborhood activist, Crooker became the first woman to join the Tanglewood Homeowners Association’s board of directors. Then the board elected her president of the board. Subsequently, Crooker founded the Houston Homeowners Association and served for three years as its president.

Crooker expressed her philosophy of activism when she signed on with “1000 Friends of Houston – Houston deserves to be a better place to live.” As a dedicated activist, Crooker worked devotedly to fulfill this claim for Houston’s future. Mrs. Crooker died on August 20, 2012. Her endless contributions and hard work for the city of Houston left a trail of great outcomes and her personal imprint on civic duty.