Clyde Eugene Criddle

Clyde Eugene Criddle 98, passed away at home in Wildomar, CA on April 3rd, 2024.
Gene (His family called him Gene and his wife and friends called him Clyde) was born on April 24th, 1925, in Milton, Morgan, Utah to Leila Criddle and Marit Olson.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Ted, his wife Evelyn, son-in-law Steven and many close relatives. He is survived by his daughter Katherine, son Steven (Kim), daughter Caroline, grandchildren Zach, Adam, Jared, Lisa and Stephanie and great-grandchild Miranda and many cousins.
Gene was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and held several positions throughout his life. He loved going to the temple. Gene enlisted in the Navy in July of 1943 and served in World War II. He was a Navy cook and fired cannons. He stood guard at the marine base for one year in Guadalcanal and served on the battleship Baltimore, He attained the rank of Third-Class Petty Officer and was on the USS St. Paul in the Tokyo Harbor at the signing of the Peace Treaty Ending World War II. He was honorably discharged in March of 1946.
Shortly after, Gene married Evelyn, (after he had to ask her 5 times just to roller-skate!) the love of his life in May of 1946. Gene had taken night school when he was younger to get a degree in Electronics but had to quit school for his job. He had a choice between Boeing and Lockheed and chose to work for Lockheed Missile & Space. He took a 3-day test to be an inspector for them and become a Quality Inspection Engineer and traveled quite a bit and it was all top secret! He did have to retire early to take care of his wife until she passed.
After he retired, they had to call him to find out how to get the tiles on the space shuttle to stick because he had satellites still working! Even though he traveled frequently for his job, he lived most of his life in several different towns in California.
Gene lived his life to the fullest. He could make friends by just talking to someone in the grocery line and loved helping people. He loved his family and always made time for them by visiting and going to family reunions and Easter get-togethers (where he had a nickname of Cool Hand Clyde). He enjoyed BBQing, his gardens especially caring for his roses, roller skating, bowling, going to the parks Knott's Berry Farm, etc. and square dancing. He enjoyed watching his San Francisco 49ers play.