James Crowder

WHITNEY -- James Gregory Crowder, 71, went to be with our Lord, Friday, March 16, 2012. Funeral: 10 a.m. Thursday, Joshua Baptist Church. Interment: Rosehill Cemetery, Cleburne. Visitation: 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Mountain Valley Funeral Home. James was born Aug. 26, 1940, in Fort Worth, to Willis and Eugenia Crowder. James was united in marriage to Dolores Ann Allen on Nov. 20, 1958, and was married 53 years at his death. He and his wife retired to Whitney, where he attended Steiner Baptist Church. James was loved by everyone he met. He was a machinist by trade and retired from Heidelberg Harris. His passion was serving our Lord through ministering the gospel in prisons, jails and out on the road, spending time with his family, riding his motorcycles, and fishing. God used James and his motorcycle as a tool to spread the gospel to many people. James and his wife, Ann, are chaplains who ministered in the prison systems. In 1997, they were recognized for their prison ministry with the Governor's Volunteer Service Award for most innovative program in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice presented to them by Gov. George W. Bush. James will be dearly missed by all who knew him. However, he will be missed most of all by his loving wife, daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren. He will be remembered by his family as our hero and our rock. There is no doubt he is now standing in the presence of our Lord and known as a good and faithful servant. Survivors: The survivors left behind to cherish his memory are his loving and devoted wife, Dolores Ann Crowder; daughters, Cindy Timmons and husband, Ronnie, of Cleburne, Melanie Hauk and husband, Carl, of Cleburne, Christi Lanier and Clayton Keel of Houston; son-in-law, Mark Lanier of Crowley; brother, Samuel Crowder and wife, Jane, of Fort Worth; grandsons, Mitchell Timmons and wife, Amber, Greg Hauk, A.J. Hauk, Cody Crowder and fiancee, Denise Wright, Joshua Lanier; granddaughter, Shayla Lanier; great-grandson, James Caleb Crowder; aunts, Ruth Williams and Helen Homesley; mother-in-law, Annell Allen; sister-in-law, Sharon Doss and husband, Ronnie Doss; brother-in-law, Jimmy Allen; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews whom he loved dearly.