James Carpenter Crigler

1919 - 2016

James Carpenter Crigler

Funeral services will be held for James Carpenter Crigler, 96, at St. Joseph Baptist Church on Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 2 p.m. with Dr. Harry Boyd officiating. Interment will follow at Legion Memorial Cemetery, Newellton, LA under the direction of Young's Funeral Home. Visitation will be at the church fellowship hall at 1 p.m. immediately preceding the service.

James Carpenter Crigler, known as Jimmie or T.O., was born on December 31, 1919 in Crawford, Mississippi, and died on August 6, 2016 at his home on Lake Bruin. He grew up in Starkville, Mississippi where he played football, basketball, baseball and tennis at Starkville High School. While visiting his older brother Jack, who was the principal at Davidson High School in St. Joseph, he met a pretty young girl, Mary Elinor Allen.

He graduated from Mississippi State where he was a member of the freshman baseball team and Sigma Chi fraternity. After graduating, he joined the Army and trained in several places before shipping out to England. Before deployment, he married Mary Elinor on January 22, 1944. He served in a Third Army tank destroyer unit which raced across France, Belgium, and Germany under General George Patton. He entered the Army as a private and was discharged after the war with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

He and Mary Elinor moved to Oxford, Mississippi where he attended law school and she attended graduate school at Ole Miss. He was President of the student body while at Ole Miss Law School and was a member of the Law Review.

After finishing school, they moved to her family farm, Sunnyside Plantation, in St. Joseph where he farmed and she tended to their six children. He began farming without much training and experience, but with a lot of help and advice from several County Agents and other farmers in the area, he became a successful farmer. He served on a number of boards and organizations in and around Tensas Parish, including Tensas State Bank, Planters Gin Company, Tensas Warehouse, Farm and Livestock Credit, Farm Bureau, and VFW. He was a Deacon at St. Joseph Baptist Church.

He and Mary Elinor enjoyed playing bridge with a group of friends who came back to Tensas Parish after World War II. He and Mary Elinor were faithful supporters of academic and athletic programs at Davidson High School and Tensas Academy. He served as the first President of Tensas Academy and President of the Lake Bruin Country Club. He and Mary Elinor spent many an evening watching their sons and grandchildren play various sports. He was a keen observer and did not hesitate to offer constructive criticism to participants. He was a die-hard Mississippi State fan, supporting the Bulldogs through good years and bad. Growing up during the Depression, serving in the Army, and his Southern Baptist faith helped form his core values: discipline, integrity and service. He worked hard and expected his family to do the same. After retirement, he lightened up a bit. He took up golf and played into his nineties. He and Mary Elinor traveled all over the world. He enjoyed his many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and they enjoyed his wry sense of humor.

He was preceded in death by Mary Elinor, who died on April 16, 2014 after over 70 years of marriage; his parents, Dr. Albert Sidney Crigler and Annie Dell Carpenter Crigler; his brothers, John Lewis Crigler, Albert Sidney Crigler, Jr., and Sam Webb Crigler; his sisters Sarah "Pat" Crigler Pearson, Lydia Crigler Burnham, and Annie Dell "Sis" Crigler Hopkins; and his son, Charles Allen Crigler.

He is survived by his sons: James C. Crigler, Jr. and wife Mullady, John D. Crigler and wife Karen, William S. Crigler and wife Julie, Allen S. Crigler and wife Betsy, and Robert Shep Crigler; grandchildren: Kate Besselman (Tommy), James C. Crigler, III (Christel), Ginny Anderson (Casey), Ellie Axford (Tommy), John D. Crigler, Jr. (Carly), David Crigler (Mary Kathryn), Kathryn Cran (John), William S. Crigler, Jr., Ross Crigler; Allen Scott Crigler, Jr. (Farrar), Thomas Crigler, Mary Elizabeth Crigler, Ruth Crigler, Alex Crigler, Robert Crigler, and Spencer Crigler; great grandchildren: Thomas Besselman, Isabelle Besselman, James C. Crigler IV, Audrey Crigler, Joseph Anderson, William Anderson, Ally Axford, Mary Elinor Axford, Annie Axford, Kathryn Axford, John Durham Crigler, III, Sutton Crigler, Camille Crigler, Julia Crigler, Caroline Crigler, Henry Cran, Scotty Cran, Michael Cran, Roarke Brown, and Allen Scott Crigler III.

Pallbearers will be James C. Crigler, III, John D. Crigler, Jr., David Crigler, William S. Crigler, Jr., Ross Crigler, Allen Scott Crigler, Jr., Thomas Crigler, Alex Crigler, Robert Crigler, and Spencer Crigler.

The family thanks Mary Lee Nicholas and Faith Rollins for their loving care.

Young's Funeral Home

Ferriday, LA