The Crimmins Family: Care for Creation

By Carissa Krautscheid

Care for God’s creation is woven into the very fabric of the Crimmins family. Mike and Theresa Crimmins both came to love nature as kids. Theresa went on many camping trips with her family growing up.

“As my sister and I got older,” she said, “our trips got longer and took us far from our home in Michigan into the incredible National Parks of the American Southwest. Seeing the desert in Utah, geysers in Yellowstone, so many different vegetation communities, and the amazing natural features of these spaces had a big impact on me.”

Mike was interested in the weather from a very young age. Backpacking trips with family and friends across North America had a significant influence on him as well.

In 1996, Mike and Theresa met in college at Western Michigan University where she was an undergrad and he was a graduate student. They were married two years later.

Theresa studied biology in college and Mike studied atmospheric sciences, pursuing his childhood interests. They both earned their master’s degrees in geography before attending the University of Arizona (UA) where Theresa earned her PhD in natural resources and Mike earned his PhD in geography.

Mike had never been to Tucson before Theresa convinced him to move here. They quickly came to love Tucson, including the culture, food, vegetation, heat, monsoons, mountains, recreational opportunities, community, and sunshine.

Mike is now a professor in the Department of Environmental Science and a Climate Science Extension Specialist at UA. In this role, he helps a wide range of stakeholders to access and use climate information. Theresa is the Director of the USA National Phenology Network and a research professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at UA.

“In this position,” she said, “I work with an incredible team to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in tracking the timing of seasonal events to better understand how plants and animals are responding to rapidly changing climate conditions. Mike and I frequently combine forces and undertake research to better understand the nuances in how plants respond to climatic drivers and have published dozens of studies together.”

When she is not working on environmental projects, Theresa can be found biking, running, baking, or spending time with family and friends. Mike enjoys hiking, biking, and playing the guitar. They are the proud parents of two sons, Zachary and Nicholas, who enjoy hiking in addition to gaming and anime.

“Zach is getting interested in computer building,” said Theresa, “and both boys are deep into Legos and construction with materials of all types.”

Zach and Nick are also “being shaped by our camping trips just as Mike and I were as younger people,” said Theresa. “Discovering horny toads and tree frogs brings so much delight, as well as counting up the number of colors we see in wildflowers on a walk. I am never happier than when the whole family is outside enjoying nature!”

The Crimmins family has two cats, Sugar Rush and Ember. “They were born in our bathroom closet when a stray mama kitty decided we would be her foster family,” Theresa recalled. Born in the infamous summer of 2020, Ember was named for the wildfires that were burning in the Catalina Mountains.

Theresa and Mike have been parishioners at St. Pius X Catholic Church since moving to Tucson in 2005. What they enjoy most about their faith community is that everyone is very friendly and welcoming at their parish. Both Zach and Nick are active with the religious education programs at St. Pius X. The Crimmins family also bakes muffins to contribute to the church’s lunches for Casa Maria.

Zach and Nick reflected on what role faith plays in their lives. “Faith has helped me with stress and to love,” said Zach, who is in eighth grade. “God helps us to love each other.”

A fifth-grader, Nick said, “Faith reminds me of what to put first in my life, my creator. God and faith give us instruction about what to do or not do.”

The Crimmins family celebrates the feast day of each saint they are named after. “On the family member’s feast day,” Theresa explained, “that individual gets to pick what we have for dinner, which might involve going out for a nice meal.” It’s a simple yet lovely way to incorporate the saints into their daily lives.

Always aware that natural resources are not limitless, the Crimmins family does their best to conserve resources through simple lifestyle changes. They turn to Pope Francis’ encyclical on care for God’s creation, Laudato Si’, “to find ways to fold this call to action into everything we do, professionally and personally.”

If the loving and energetic Crimmins family had a motto to live by, it would be, “Love first, then figure out the rest.”

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Originally published in Catalina Foothills Catholic Magazine