Mary Jane Craig

MJ was born in Texarkana, Arkansas to Milton Fletcher Stewart and Sarah Jane Stewart (nee Freund). The oldest of three daughters, MJ spent her childhood in Magnolia, Arkansas and later studied at Southern State College there.

MJ married young and traveled around the country and abroad, as a military family does, with a growing family, eventually having six children. During this time MJ had many jobs working outside the home all while raising her family. It wasn’t until they settled in Killeen at Fort Hood, and after her marriage ended, that MJ decided to reinvent herself.

In 1975, at age 37, MJ obtained her real estate license and soon discovered that she loved the business, its ever-changing clientele, the many ways to make a deal work and the challenges to put it all together. Over the next 40 years, MJ evolved from novice to subject matter expert, teaching every real estate class offered by the local college – basics, math, investments and taxation, law, and appraisals. As a broker, she and a partner started a company in 1978 and eventually she branched out on her own with MJ Craig & Associates, a company which still exists today run by her daughter Marcie.

Over the years MJ held several executive positions with the Fort Hood Area Association of Realtors and the Harker Heights Rotary Club. She also served on the Killeen Planning & Zoning Commission and the National Association of Realtors. In addition to running her own company, MJ was the Management Broker for the Department of Veterans Affairs for many years. In 1983, MJ was selected for Notable Women of Texas and in 1986, Who’s Who in American Women. Along the way MJ led by example, lifting up other women in the industry and helping numerous others in the community in countless ways.

Even though MJ had extraordinary success in her career, her family was always the priority. Asked recently what she wanted to be remembered for, she replied, “above all else I want my family to remember how much I loved them; that their lives were the most important things in my life.” In 2014, when MJ lost her youngest son, Michael, she was devastatingly heartbroken and it was her children, grandchildren and God that helped her through an unbearable loss.

MJ walked through life with a steadfast trust in the Lord. Her faith was the foundation upon which she built her entire life. She often said she could not live without the presence of God in her life. She experienced God’s faithfulness in deeply personal ways, frequently reflecting on how many times He had lifted a burden from her. She could recount many instances when she faced challenges that seemed insurmountable, times when there was no answer and suddenly one appeared – a testament to the active presence of God she felt guiding, sustaining and blessing her every day. Her gratitude for these divine interventions was boundless, and she saw each answered prayer and lifted burden as evidence of God’s unfailing love and provision in her life.

MJ was also a very talented artist whose creativity knew no bounds. She could draw, paint, sew, cook, and grow a garden, among other things. Her children always were, and always will be, so proud of their beautiful, talented mother whose love was unlimited and who somehow had enough to go around such that each one felt that they were her favorite.

MJ was preceded in death by her son, Michael Stewart Craig, Sr. and her parents. She is survived by her son Kym Craig; daughters Valerie Craig Barker (Rick), Marjory Wilson Cook (Curtis), Deborah Garrell Wallace (Carl Hudspeth), Elaine Craig-Bruni (Ray); sisters Sally Hurlbutt and Vicki McGuire; her grandchildren, Rachael, Tiffanie, David, Kelsey, Charlie, Kalyn, Julia, Claire, Michael, Liam, Samuel and Andrea; many great grandchildren; and her nieces and nephews.

Words cannot capture the magnitude of losing such an extraordinary woman. As a mother, she was our anchor; as a grandmother, she was pure joy. The world feels smaller without her light.