Joy Rebecca Crawford, age 90, went home to be with the Lord, July 10, 2020.
Joy grew up in Butler, OK, and married Claude P. Crawford from Clinton, OK. Prior to his death in 2009, they celebrated 62 blissful years of marriage. She was a loving wife and mother, who took care of those she loved. They had 5 sons whom she taught to work hard, to live good moral values, and the importance of being saved.
She was predeceased by her sister, Lou White of Elk City, OK. Joy is survived by her 5 sons and their wives: Roger and Betty Crawford of Stockton, CA; Fred and Pamela Crawford of Tucson, AZ, Michael and Regina Crawford of Oklahoma City, OK; David and Lorraine Crawford of Medford, OR; Isaac and Cheryle Crawford of Custer City, OK, as well as numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Joy always reflected on how much fun she had raising her 5 boys, and was proud that they grew up to be fine, successful men. She also worked alongside her husband Claude in the Baptist ministry and a dry cleaning business they owned until they retired in 1997. Her last years were spent in the Elk City Nursing Home, where she was surrounded by many friends and the staff which gave her excellent care and she loved them as family.
Joy never met a stranger, and made others feel loved and accepted, as if they were her own kin. Those who knew her always proclaimed how happy she was, and how she really lived up to her name, Joy. When asked about her source of happiness, she quickly let them know that it was because she knew the Lord Jesus Christ, as her personal Savior, and that when her work for Him was done, she would go home to be with Him through eternity.
She was a beautiful example of what a wife, mother, and a saved child of God, should be. When asked how she wanted to be remembered, she said, “As a loving wife and mother, who was a witness for Christ wherever she went, and that others in her life would know how much she loved them.” She was a witness for Him, as others often said they could truly see Christ in her.
She did not want her death to bring sorrow, rather that the memories of her life would give them joy. She did not fear death itself, because she knew it meant that her work for Christ was done, and that she would be in Heaven with her Lord along with the saved who had gone on before her, and she would be awaiting those she loved, and who are saved, to join her there one day.
Whinery Funeral Home will be handling her funeral arrangements, a graveside service at Masonic Cemetery in Custer City, OK, to be held Tuesday, July 14, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.
Joy always said, “Tell people not to send flowers to my funeral, as I won’t be there to see them.” She would have preferred that those who wish to do so make a donation in her name to the Elk City Nursing Home.
Online condolences can be made at whineryfs.com.