Ruth CharleneCraig

Ruth Charlene Craig, 91, of Greenville passed away December 5, 2012 at Briarcliff Health Center.  Services will be held at 2:00 PM Sunday at Highland Terrace Baptist Church with visitation beginning at 1:00 PM.  Rev. Larry Jordan and Rev. Royce Litchfield will officiate.  Interment will follow at Memoryland Memorial Park.

Coker-Mathews Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Charlene was born in Wood County to Thomas Jefferson Shearer and Constance Cranford Shearer on July 19, 1921 and moved to Wolfe City as a small child.  She attended schools in Wolfe City and graduated in 1939.  After graduatation, she and Oma Faye Herndon came to Greenville to work at Hagger Mfg. The air force came to Greenville where Charlene met Wilton Lee Craig.  They were married November 14, 1942, and they had a daughter and son. 

In 1947, she went to work for Henson Mfg. and worked there for almost forty years. When she retired, she helped organize the Henson Retiree Club that still meets every month.  In 2006, the club celebrated 20 years of organization.

Charlene was an invaluable employee at Henson’s having trained at least nine plant managers.  She retired three times from Henson’s proving they had a hard time functioning without her.  She dedicated her life to her work, and she was highly respected. The many employees whose lives she touched honored her until her death with visits, card, flowers, candy, and most of all their love.  She will be missed.

She also worked at Wal-Mart for seven and a half years. 

She was a member of Highland Terrace Baptist Church  and Washington Street Baptist prior to that.  She was a member of the Linda Bishop Sunday School Class.

Her survivors include her son Don Craig and wife Cindy of Clyde; daughter Carolyn Duck of Ruidoso, New Mexico; three granddaughters Stephanie Lewis and husband Jason, Melissa Blackwell and husband Johnny, and Amy Cozmyk; great-granddaughters Cheyenne and Connor Choate, Caitlyn and Samantha Blackwell, and Tara Lewis; one great-grandson Hunter James Lewis; nieces Darla Maxwell, June Lloyd, Sue Gladden, and Gayle Holland; great-nieces Jennifer Moody, Haley Sumrow, and Carley Blakemore; great-nephew J. P. Lloyd; and one special friend who was like a daughter Sue Smith.

She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; grandson Kelley Cozmyk in 1987; sisters Era Norris, Jessie Grady, and Dovie Lunsford; brother Sidney Shearer; and son-in-law Bill Duck.

Pallbearers will be Don Atherton, Ronnie Green, Ronny Maxwell, Ricky Moseley, Ray Wallen, and Leahom Bryant.  Honorary pallbearers will be Jerry Bench, Amos Lowry, and John Randolph.

The family requests memorials be made to the Children’s Fund at Highland Terrace Baptist Church.