Harold Crites

A Celebration of Life for Harold Lewis Crites, 101, of Claremore and formerly of Enid, will be at 10:00 AM, Friday, May 2, 2014 at the Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home with Rev. Carrell Still and Dr. Richard Duckworth officiating. Interment will follow at 2:30 PM at the Elmwood Cemetery in Woodward, OK. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6 to 7 PM Thursday. Arrangements are under the direction of Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home.

Harold was born to Emanuel and Edith McCormick Crites on a farm east of Woodward, OK on July 11, 1912 and passed away April 28, 2014 in Claremore, OK. At a very early age, Harold moved to a farm north of Vici, OK. He attended the Hackberry, Sharon and Vici Schools, graduating from Vici High School in 1929. He attended the University of Oklahoma and received a B.S. Degree in Pharmacy in 1933. He was united in marriage to Ethel M. Tomlinson on August 29, 1934 at her parents’ home near Vici. They were together for 68 years, raising two children, Harold Lewis Crites Jr. (H.L.) and Stanley Ray Crites. After living in Ft. Cobb and Watonga, they moved to Enid in 1945, where he was a pharmacist for Evans Drug. He later became affiliated with The Yount Drug Store for 25 years and retired in 1981.

He was a long time member of Willow Road Christian Church, being Elder Emeritus. He was also active in the church at District and Regional levels. He served as District Moderator and on the Regional Board of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma. He and Ethel also served eight years on the regional Outreach Committee, making trips to Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica on behalf of the church. He was named Layman of The Year in 1981 by the Enid Council of Churches. He will be remembered as a very precise person and for the poetry he wrote. He received third place and honorable mention in Oklahoma Senior Poetry contests.

Survivors include his son, Stanley Ray Crites of Claremore, a grandson, David A. Crites and his wife Stacy of Deer Park, TX, a granddaughter, Debra Kay Crites of Fort Worth, TX and a daughter-in-law, Linda Crites of Granbury, TX. For the past few years, Harold had been living with his son and daughter-in-law, Elyse in Claremore. He was preceded in death by his wife Ethel and his son, H.L.

Memorial contributions may be made to OMRF with Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home custodian of the fund.. Online condolences may be left at ladusauevans.com.