Biography: Nicolas Bracken Allen Crowe was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on April 28, 1984. He moved with his family to Little Rock, Arkansas when he was 3. New to the neighborhood, he made himself known by escaping his house and gleefully running naked across the Rocky Court cul-de-sac.

He was son to Jo Ann Bischof and to Ed Crowe, the best driver in the world, a gift Nick inherited. He was kid brother to Ben Crowe (and later to his wife, Kristin), favorite uncle to James and Charlotte (his southern peach). He was Nomad Nick to grandparents Bill and Joy Bowen, and later Honey to Joy when she moved to Little Rock. Growing up, he spent time with his grandparents Walter and Mary Crowe in Somerville, MA and later in Siesta Key, FL, and with his (favorite) Uncle John, Aunt Kathie, and cousins Dan and Andrew Musto in Sarasota, FL, sometimes also joined by his cousin Becky Crowe.

As they do, the dimple-cheeked boy grew up and he graduated from Catholic High School in 2002, a charming, handsome young man. He attended college at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and Little Rock.
          
He was a loving husband, protector, and fellow adventurer to his wife, Peggy Cosgrove, whom he married in 2022; he was Dogfather to Kobe and Tallulah. Friends since they were 12, Nick and Peggy reconnected to build a wonderful life together with theme parties, couples costumes, and camping trips, very often surrounded by their friends. His athletic prowess was on display every kickball season and his competitiveness at every game night. They had a true partnership: Nick would ask, “how into this are we?” and then dive in headfirst when Peggy said, “we’re into it.” Together, they were joyful; they lived life. When he passed, he was home in every sense of the word with Peg and their dogs.

The thing about Nick is that he’s always been Nick: what you see is what you get. As a toddler, he had the dexterity to put an olive on each fingertip and the palate to enjoy eating them off, one by one. He had the determination to climb the refrigerator, where from his mount he ate his spoils from the cookie jar. To the delight of his brother and his brother’s friends, he would stand on a chair in the kitchen to make them all grilled cheese sandwiches. His love of music started early with the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, which included his favorite song, Time of my Yife. As an adult, Nick loved good food and drink, no matter the meat sweats. He loved music, especially Phish, and especially Phish live. He traveled the country to see maybe 40 Phish shows with his friends and with Peg.

In fact, Nick was a frequent traveler throughout his life starting when he was a kid with 20 plus hour drives to Florida and to Massachusetts, where he ate pringles and drank sprite on the hot summer days in his grandparents’ house, windows closed and no air conditioning. He saw Europe as a young man. He visited his family however far flung: his father and his father’s wife, Rena Subotnik in Washington, DC; his brother and cousin and their families in Cambridge and Boston, MA; his uncle and aunt in Sarasota, FL; and his cousin and family in Miami, FL. He and Peg took many trips together all over the US. Type B to her Type A, he taught her that the best part of traveling is not the destination but what you do along the way. Traveling Nick was a wanderer who embraced spontaneity over itineraries.

N.B.A. announced himself most days as the almost-every-sport superfan that he was, wearing hats, t-shirts, shorts, socks, jackets, and shoes celebrating his favorite teams: the Hogs, the Tarheels, and the Travelers. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of sports and sports history. He would watch any sport on tv, including golf, but he especially loved attending sporting events in person. He saw many Razorback football games, and he convinced his best friend, Sean Hinson, to join him in getting season tickets to the Razorbacks basketball games. He and Peg were regulars at Travelers games, and on trips they very often attended sporting events from the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat to the little-known Amarillo Sod Poodles. In 2020, his lifelong dream was realized when he stood on the court at the Dean Dome with his Uncle John and cousin Dan after a UNC vs. Duke game.

To have known Nick is to know these things about him. He was fiercely independent from a young age, stubborn even. He was the most fun. He loved to tell stories, to laugh, and to make everyone else laugh. He was passionate and louder than life. He often quoted movies. He had a big, generous heart and he was loyal. His friends were paramount to him. He loved babies and kids, and, taking after his mother, he loved dogs too. He kept up a years-long text conversation with his brother that was indecipherable to anyone else. He ran hot: air conditioning on high in the summer, shorts in the winter. He enjoyed crossword puzzles, Wordle, chickenfoot, and books about US history. He had strongly held convictions: UNC is better than Duke; there’s no reason to put an “h” in Nicolas; and go Hogs! He hated cancer, slow drivers, low water pressure, and dinosaur overalls in family portraits. One year he saved Christmas, and that story would make a great movie.
 
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Home for Healing, Little Rock, AR (homeforhealing.org).

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday March 15, 2025 from 2 to 5 PM at Next Level Events, 1400 W Markham St., Little Rock AR 72201.