Cecile Dotson Crowe was born October 17, 1911 in Millville, Utah. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1923 with her family. At the time, the town was a very small and friendly railroad town where everyone knew everyone else. After high school, Crowe went to the University of Nevada, married her husband Charles Gerald, and raised her children and grandchildren. She also worked for the Chamber of Commerce and on the Boulder Canyon project.