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Joel Craig, 88, of Ingram, passed away on July 16, 2023, in his home. He was born in Ingram, Texas, to Charles Christian Craig and Blanche Virginia Craig on January 1, 1935. Joel married Jacqueline Suella Braddock on March 2, 1972, in Kerrville, and later divorced in 1982.
Joel went to school at Ingram through his eighth grade year, then attended Tivy High School, graduating in the class of 1952. He attended both Tarleton State University and Southwest Texas State Teacher’s College briefly then began working for the Hill Country Telephone Cooperative, which his grandfather, John Wachter, had once owned when it was known as the Hill Country Telephone Exchange. In 1957, Joel Joined the United States Army where he attended Basic Training at Fort Carson, Colorado, secondary training at Fort Ord, California, then served in Germany until 1959. Not long after returning, he purchased a ditching machine and started Joel Craig Ditching Service, where he was involved in many area building and demolition projects, including the routing of IH-10 through the Kerr County hills. With a few more heavy equipment vehicles as his assets, Joel purchased the Ingram Water Supply from his father in 1977 and operated it until he sold it in 1995.
His father’s legacy as a teacher and one of the early Superintendents of Ingram ISD led to Joel’s desire to serve his community as a member, and later President, of the Ingram ISD School Board from 1980-1988. But you couldn’t know Joel without knowing he was a gifted pianist. As a teenager, he got his first gig in a western band that played in Bandera and earned $.35 for the night. He went on to play for the “Playboys,” and later for the “Blue Notes.”
Joel was preceded in death by his parents and his special friend, Annie Mosty of Kerrville.
Survivors include daughter, Michal Bailey and her husband, Dean Bailey, of Dallas, TX; son, Chris Craig of San Antonio, TX; daughter, Fran Schmidt and her husband Chris Schmidt of Keller, TX; and daughter, Nancy Craig and Walt Mijares of San Antonio; his cousins, Lanny Leinweber of Mountain Home and Margie Graham of Ingram; two grandchildren, Hayden and Anna Schmidt; and many beloved friends and distant cousins.
Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at Grimes Funeral Chapels.
The funeral service will be at 10 a.m., Thursday, July 20, 2023, at Grimes Funeral Chapels. Burial will follow at Nichols Cemetery, then a reception at his former unofficial office at the Ingram Whataburger.
Pallbearers will be Chris Craig, Chris Schmidt, Hayden Schmidt, Walt Mijares, Lanny Leinweber and Frank Walker.
Memorials may be given in lieu of flowers to West Kerr Community Scholarship Fund at PO Box 433, Ingram, TX 78025, or to Disabled American Veterans at dav.org.
Joel went to school at Ingram through his eighth grade year, then attended Tivy High School, graduating in the class of 1952. He attended both Tarleton State University and Southwest Texas State Teacher’s College briefly then began working for the Hill Country Telephone Cooperative, which his grandfather, John Wachter, had once owned when it was known as the Hill Country Telephone Exchange. In 1957, Joel Joined the United States Army where he attended Basic Training at Fort Carson, Colorado, secondary training at Fort Ord, California, then served in Germany until 1959. Not long after returning, he purchased a ditching machine and started Joel Craig Ditching Service, where he was involved in many area building and demolition projects, including the routing of IH-10 through the Kerr County hills. With a few more heavy equipment vehicles as his assets, Joel purchased the Ingram Water Supply from his father in 1977 and operated it until he sold it in 1995.
His father’s legacy as a teacher and one of the early Superintendents of Ingram ISD led to Joel’s desire to serve his community as a member, and later President, of the Ingram ISD School Board from 1980-1988. But you couldn’t know Joel without knowing he was a gifted pianist. As a teenager, he got his first gig in a western band that played in Bandera and earned $.35 for the night. He went on to play for the “Playboys,” and later for the “Blue Notes.”
Joel was preceded in death by his parents and his special friend, Annie Mosty of Kerrville.
Survivors include daughter, Michal Bailey and her husband, Dean Bailey, of Dallas, TX; son, Chris Craig of San Antonio, TX; daughter, Fran Schmidt and her husband Chris Schmidt of Keller, TX; and daughter, Nancy Craig and Walt Mijares of San Antonio; his cousins, Lanny Leinweber of Mountain Home and Margie Graham of Ingram; two grandchildren, Hayden and Anna Schmidt; and many beloved friends and distant cousins.
Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at Grimes Funeral Chapels.
The funeral service will be at 10 a.m., Thursday, July 20, 2023, at Grimes Funeral Chapels. Burial will follow at Nichols Cemetery, then a reception at his former unofficial office at the Ingram Whataburger.
Pallbearers will be Chris Craig, Chris Schmidt, Hayden Schmidt, Walt Mijares, Lanny Leinweber and Frank Walker.
Memorials may be given in lieu of flowers to West Kerr Community Scholarship Fund at PO Box 433, Ingram, TX 78025, or to Disabled American Veterans at dav.org.