Floyd Leon "Lonnie" Crider, 71, died Monday, Dec. 26, in Denton.
He was born in Denton on April 30, 1940, to Floyd and Mildred Crider. He lived on a farm near Krum for much of his childhood before moving to Denton where he graduated from Denton High School in 1958.
Lonnie received his bachelor's degree from the University of North Texas in 1962 and was a career newspaperman. After working for the Denton Record Chronicle and the Odessa American, he spent more than 25 years in Kansas as a writer, copy editor and layout designer at the Wichita Eagle.
He was married for 43 years to his high school sweetheart, Bette Pemberton Crider Burns. Lonnie liked to travel and visit his children and grandchildren. He enjoyed following the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys and was an avid reader.
He is survived by his son and daughter in-law Jarrel and Brenda Crider of Fremont, Calif., and daughter and son in-law Sandra and Shawn Engelland of Keller; sister and brother in-law JoAnn and Dick Boots of Paris; granddaughters Rachel, Rebekah and Anna Engelland; step-grandchildren Dina, Edward, Anthony and Ryan Pepito; five step-great-grandchildren and one step-great-great grandson. He was preceded in death by his parents.
A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30, at the First Baptist Church of Ponder with burial to follow at Eakins Cemetery, Ponder.
Donations may be made to the National Alliance on Mental Illness at
http://www.nami.org/myNAMICause/Memorials/lonnie_crider/