Claud E Cripps

Grand Tower - Three days before his 78th birthday, Claud Edward Cripps' life came to a close. Born May 11th, 1935 to Ivy Lewis Cripps and Maude Ellen Hancock Cripps, Claud was one of 11 children. Claud was born in Grand Tower, IL and though his travels took him to the farthest reaches of this world, he maintained that Grand Tower was his home. When Claud was just 20 years old, he enlisted in the United States Navy in August of 1955. The Navy would prove to take him places that a boy from a small town in Illinois would have never dreamed of. Utilizing his skills in carpentry, Claud became a Navy Seabee, the U.S. Naval Construction Force. Claud and Ada Vanover Cripps were married on October 22nd, 1960 and had a daughter, Julie, and a son, Claud Benjamin (Ben) in Grand Tower, IL. Claud told stories of being stationed all over the world, like on the tropical island of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, where he sent home seashells to his children. Perhaps his best stories came out of his two stints in Antarctica. While there, he helped to build the American Naval Base, McMurdo Station. He told his children and grandchildren about his many encounters with penguins and how his crew often stopped to take photos with them. Claud retired from the United States Navy Seabees as a Builder Chief E-7 in September 1977. Though he worked in places as far away as Pago Pago in American Samoa, New Zealand, Cuba, Vietnam, Davisville, Rhode Island, Gulfport, Mississippi and Antarctica, his favorite place was home. Claud was preceded in death by his parents, Ivy and Maude, of Grand Tower, IL; his brothers John, Wesley, Charles, and Raymond and his sisters Verna McKenzie, Shirley Hatley, and Peggy Huffstutler. Claud leaves behind his wife of 52 years, Ada Ruth Vanover Cripps, of Grand Tower, IL.; two children, Julie and Mike Blandford of Murphysboro, IL, and Claud Benjamin Cripps of Grand Tower, IL.; four grandchildren, Jayme Blandford of St Louis, MO and Jared Blandford of Ft Eustis Army Base, VA, and Maggie and Eli Cripps of Anna, IL; two sisters, Flo Cook and Jean Corbin, both of Grand Tower, IL. Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 10, 2013 at Meredith Funeral Home, Grand Tower Chapel, with Pastor Peggy Camp officiating. Burial will be at Walker Hill Cemetery, Grand Tower, with Military Rites. Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, 2013 at the funeral home. The family wishes that any donations be made to This Able Veteran, an organization in Carbondale, IL that is returning hope to injured veterans and their families by providing them the highest-quality Service Dogs. Donations may also be made to the American Diabetes Association.



Service:



11:00 a.m. Friday, May 10, 2013



Meredith Funeral Home Grand Tower, Illinois







Visitation:



5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, May 9, 2013



Meredith Funeral Home Grand Tower, Illinois