Top of the Menu: New York Peppercorn Steak

When she moved to Liberty Lake with her family some 40-plus years ago, Shelley Crump was 12. She couldn’t have known it then, but she had arrived in a community she would happily invest her life in.

The oldest of 11 Demars children, Shelley played in the open, undeveloped fields and made lifelong friends with families that remain a part of the fabric of Liberty Lake.

“The circle of friends I hung out with then I consider some of the finest people,” she said. “And the way those people raised their families set the footing for how this whole community would develop. It’s an example, a standard that was set.”

Shelley’s own family includes her three children with husband, David Crump, who served on the City Council for the first decade of the city’s existence.

Like Shelley, her children all went through Central Valley High School and were immersed in the Liberty Lake experience, from embracing all the outdoor amenities to seeing Dr. Scott Ralph for orthodontic needs (and having their winning smiles featured in many of his advertisements).

“I love the community feel here and the dedication to strong families,” Shelley said. “I love that it’s so important everyone is outdoors and using the trail systems.”

And when you love something for so long, it’s easy to want to invest in it, something the family has done through church, organizations and municipal leadership.

“We have been dedicated to Liberty Lake because we want to see it continue to grow in a way that is family oriented and strong business oriented,” she said.

Shelley has built her own business in Liberty Lake. As a tax accountant with 20 years of experience, she works with individuals, corporations and small businesses with a specialty in making money matters stress free.

It’s just one more way she can invest in a community that has meant so much to her for more than four decades, a community that still reflects the values of strong families, unity and recreation that she experienced as a girl.

“Actually, our kids are still running in the same fields we played in as kids,” Shelley said. “Today, those fields are just called Pavillion Park or called Rocky Hill.”

NOTE: A version of this article first appeared in the 2020 Liberty Lake Yearbook.