Julia "Anne" Criddle

Julia “Anne” Criddle, 92, passed away on January 17, 2023, surrounded by her loved ones. Anne was born in Gadsden, Alabama on June 27, 1930, but soon moved to Holland, Missouri. She graduated from Holland High School in three years and attended Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri.

Anne married E. T. Criddle II on August 23, 1947, whom she had known since she was five years old and who was her High School sweetheart. They had quite an adventure over the next 60 years! Anne followed E. T. from Missouri to Fort Worth, Houston, Bellaire, and Caldwell, Texas. They loved and supported each other wherever they went. They were always the life of the party; people would always say, “Yay, the Criddles are here!” They loved to dance together and many times, people cleared the floor just to watch them!

Anne taught her children the value of volunteering. She was active in several civic organizations, including St. Vincent de Paul PTA Board, Marian Catholic High School Board, and the Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapters.

Anne always looked for ways to learn. She read constantly whether it was one to two newspapers or a book a day. She loved playing cards and scrabble, working crossword puzzles, crocheting, and making jewelry. You could often find her reading books or later reading on her Amazon Fire. She had an insatiable thirst for learning and loved watching Jeopardy. She also believed in recycling everything you could. When she was 77, she got an email address, joined Facebook, and learned as best she could to use them as well as Google to look things up.

Mom was a world class shopper. If they were handing out Olympic medals for shopping, she would have more gold medals than Michael Phelps!

While she grew up in the city, Anne loved living in the country. She enjoyed the land and animals. She was a rancher for the last 46 years and was known to pull a calf in the middle of the night to save the Mama cow and calf.

Anne always had a relationship with God starting as a Baptist and converting to a Catholic. E. T. and Anne thought it important to send all their children to Catholic schools and they did. In recent years, she was a member of St. Monica Catholic Church in Cameron, Texas. Anne prayed every day to Jesus, Mary, and her favorite saints. She said she wanted to pray often so that when she got in a tight spot, they knew who she was.

Anne is preceded in death by her parents, Florene Elizabeth Esch and Charles Wesley Jackson; her husband, E. T. Criddle II; and her son, E. T. Criddle, III.

Anne grew up an only child, so she always wanted a big family. She is survived by daughter, Elizabeth (Libby) Criddle of Austin, Texas; daughter and son-in-law, Toni and Lucien Jacques, Jr. of Caldwell, Texas; and daughter and son-in-law, Denise and David Pineda of Chriesman, Texas; nine grandchildren; 21 great grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren.

A Memorial Service celebrating Anne’s life will be held at St. Monica Catholic Church, 306 S. Nolan Ave., Cameron, Texas on Saturday, January 28, 2023, at 11:00 am.