Mary Alice Crittell

Mary was born on November 13th, 1940 in San Antonio Texas to Lambert Fryar Sr. and Emma Depauw Fryar. She attended St. John Berchman Catholic school, Edgewood High School and one year at Our Lady of the Lake University. When she was growing up, she enjoyed riding her bicycle, playing cards, baseball, volleyball and jacks, sewing, cooking, playing the flute and drawing. She even won a contest for drawing a picture of a Ray Ellison Home that she got to see proudly displayed in a store window in downtown San Antonio. Her first job was at 14 years old as a waitress. Since money was tight in her family of eight, she used her earnings to happily buy a new coat and clothes. When she was young, she also worked at Joskes as a gift wrapper and she cared for a few elderly people in her neighborhood. She loved school and could remember all her favorite teachers’ names. Her love of school was apparent, graduating at the top of her high school class and earning a scholarship to Our Lady of the Lake University. But, the need to earn money required her to enter the workforce before her degree was complete. She began her Civil Service career first at Veterans Affairs and then to Lackland as a stenographer and secretary and was quickly promoted to the Base commander’s office. But, as her two children came along, she decided to quit working for a while to raise them. She sold Stanley Home Products to supplement her husband’s income and then once her children were grown, returned to Randolph Air Force base, working in personnel until she retired in 1998.

She was a loving and caring person and wanted to help everyone she could. She was a devoted wife and mother, making sure her husband and children had all they needed to feel loved and supported them wholeheartedly in all their endeavors. She held down the fort when her husband Carl was away hunting or fishing for the weekend. These were special times when it was just the girls at home, playing cards and board games and laughing with two of her favorites, Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball on Saturday nights. She was a good cook and always had dinner ready at 5:00 M-F. Her specialties were venison steak strips, beef stew, roast, vegetable soup, cornbread, sugar cookies, sand tarts and tunnel of fudge cake. Mary’s girls were lucky that she learned to sew as a young girl. She became an excellent seamstress and made all kinds of clothing for them, including prom dresses. She taught her girls and granddaughters how to use the sewing machine as well. She also liked to crochet and passed on this skill too. Mary loved having beautiful plants and flowers in her yard, just like her mother. She also liked to help others by volunteering. She took her girls every year to wrap and deliver presents for Elf Louise.

Mary was a devoted sister and daughter too. She often took her children to visit her sisters in Bandera and Boerne and even one trip to California and she cared for her mother as she grew older.

Mary continued to enjoy her art and took painting classes even in retirement. And, she very much loved her grandchildren. She spent time with them as often as she could and was there to cheer them on in all their activities. She sewed beautiful Halloween costumes for them when they were young. Mary was very good at letting her children live their own lives, but the well-being of them and her grandchildren was of utmost importance to her. So, if she saw a way that she thought she could help, she very gently offered her wisdom. Her great love and kindness for all of us will never be forgotten.

Mary is preceded in death by her husband, Carl Crittell. She is survived by her daughter April Cook and husband George of New Braunfels and grandchildren Clay, Ryan and Colton and daughter Susan Tarrillion

and husband, Don of San Antonio and grandchildren Jake (and Sarah), Hannah (and JC) and Jenna and great grandchildren, Luke and Drew, as well as two sisters and one brother and numerous nieces and nephews.