|
| |
Richard Don Crowder, 82, of Marietta peacefully fell into eternal sleep on November 5, 2021. Don was born January 19, 1939 in Carthage, Arkansas, the son of Marvin and Drucilla Johnson Crowder. He had a wonderful childhood growing up. Later in life he ventured to McAlester where he met the love of his life, Thelma Crowder. They married in 1980 and spent the next 41 years enjoying their lives together. Quickly after marrying, Don became a lineman for APS in Phoenix. He climbed poles higher than anyone could ever imagine until he finally retired.
One thing about Don, he wasn't only a wonderful husband, but he was an amazing father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He loved to spend his time growing his gardens and turning that Arizona dirt into green grass. He proved it was possible! He loved hunting elk and whitetail deer. He loved fishing, camping out and cooking over an open campfire in the Arizona Flagstaff Mountains. All the grandkids used to joke about being his favorite grandkid, but he would always make us all feel we were each his favorite in different ways. That's just who he was. Don taught us many things about life.
Don loved his family, his wife, his dogs, and his church family as well. Don was a very religious man. He was saved by the grace of God. He preached the Lord's word to everyone he stumbled upon. He preached sermons and led the church in hymns over many years. His favorite scripture was Romans 10:10, "That if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved." Don attended the Blue Ribbon Missionary Baptist Church in his final years of life. He always kept Brother Chuck McElroy on his toes. Chuck became his family through Christ.
Don was by all means human, but he loved with his entire heart. He never met a stranger, and he will be greatly missed.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Karla Crowder; parents, Drucilla and Marvin Crowder; and sister, Ruth Dial.
Survivors include his wife, Thelma Crowder; sons, Frank Crowder and wife Tammie and Gerald Crowder; daughters, Lynette Spradling and Pamela Emery; grandkids, Crystal Porter, Elizabeth Branscum and husband Travis, Ashley Rhyne and husband Kyle, Savannah Crowder, Austin Crowder, Melissa Long and husband Jermaine, and Neal Crowder and wife Emily. All in all, he had 18 great-grandkids, one great-great-grandbaby, and one on the way.
A very specific thank you to the following nurses who cared for Don at Mercy Love County in Marietta: Sierra Lee, Kayla Tucker, Gina Davis, Katie Eubanks, Lindsey Graham, Laura Guerrero, Teresa Landreth, and Wendy Rush.
Services to celebrate the life of Don were held at 3 p.m. Tuesday, November 9 at the Flanagan-Watts Funeral Home Chapel, Marietta with Brother Chuck McElroy, and Brother Slic.
Online guest book: wattsfuneralhome.com
Flanagan-Watts
This obituary included a photo of Mr. Crowder.
Richard Don Crowder, 82, of Marietta, OK peacefully fell into eternal sleep on November 5, 2021. Don was born January 19, 1939, in Carthage, AR, the son of Marvin and Drucilla (Johnson) Crowder. He had a wonderful childhood growing up. Later in life he ventured into McAlester, OK where he met the love of his life, Thelma Crowder. They married in 1980 and spent the next 41 years enjoying their lives together. Quickly after marrying, Don became a lineman for APS in Phoenix, Arizona. He climbed poles higher than anyone could ever imagine until he finally retired.
One thing about Don, he wasn't only a wonderful husband, but he was an amazing father, grandfather, and great-great-grandfather. He loved to spend his time growing his gardens and turning that Arizona dirt into green grass. He proved it was possible! He loved hunting elk and whitetail deer. He loved fishing, camping out and cooking over an open campfire in the Arizona Flagstaff Mountains. All the grandkids used to joke about being his favorite grandkid, but he would always make us all feel we were each his favorite in different ways. That's just who he was. Don taught us many things about life.
Don loved his family, his wife, his dogs, and his church family as well. Don was a very religious man. He was saved by the grace of God. He preached the Lord's word to everyone he stumbled upon. He preached sermons and led the church in hymns over many years. His favorite scripture was Romans 10:10, “That if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Don attended the Blue Ribbon Missionary Baptist Church in his final years of life. He always kept Bro. Chuck McElroy on his toes. Chuck became his family through Christ.
Don was by all means human, but he loved with his entire heart. He never met a stranger, and he will be greatly missed.
Preceded in death by his daughter, Karla Crowder; parents, Drucilla and Marvin Crowder; and sister, Ruth Dial.
Survived by his wife, Thelma Crowder; sons, Frank Crowder and wife Tammie and Gerald Crowder; daughters, Lynette Spradling and Pamela Emery; grandkids, Crystal Porter, Elizabeth Branscum and husband Travis, Ashley Rhyne and husband Kyle, Savannah Crowder, Austin Crowder, Melissa Long and husband Jermaine and Neal Crowder and wife Emily. All in all, he had 18 great-grandkids, one great-great-grandbaby, and one on the way!
A very Specific Thank you to the following nurses who cared for Don at Mercy Love County in Marietta, Sierra Lee, Kayla Tucker, Gina Davis, Katie Eubanks, Lindsey Graham, Laura Guerrero, Teresa Landreth, and Wendy Rush.
Services to celebrate the life of Don will be held at 3:00 P.M. on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, at the Flanagan-Watts Funeral Home Chapel in Marietta with Bro. Chuck McElroy officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Flanagan-Watts Funeral Home & Cremation Services.
Honorary bearers are Travis Branscum, Bryan Porter, Allen Durbin, Chuck McElroy, and Bro. Slick.
Visitation will be Monday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.
A keepsake video is available through the funeral home.
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma CemeteriesThe information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.