Johnie Beth Ward

Johnie Beth Crabb Ward (affectionately known as MeMe), 82 of Lubbock, entered the Gates of Heaven on June 21, 2020 at her home in the Slide Community surrounded by her family.
Beth was born on September 7, 1937 in Harmon County Oklahoma (Hollis, OK) to Alton H. Crabb and Johnnie S.(Cansler) Crabb.  She attended LaCasa Schools in Harmon County where she excelled in athletics. She married the love of her life, E.J. Ward, in Hollis on October 25, 1952.  They moved to Lubbock in 1959. Together they reared 4 children all of whom received their Bachelor/Master degrees from Texas Tech University. Beth and E.J. were married almost 50 years until his death in August 2002.  
She was a loving, supportive and caring mother to her children and very active in their lives.  She helped sponsor Girl Scouts and served at school as Room mother for many years.  Beth also attended  many athletic events that her children and grandchildren participated in. Beth always made them feel protected and safe. She loved to babysit her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and spoil them rotten.

Beth was a Baptist and attended Slide Baptist Church. There she helped sponsor the Youth Choir Ministry, Puppet Ministry and Vacation Bible School. She loved to take care of babies and for many years she was the church’s Nursery Teacher.

She loved to work outside in her yard and for many years she planted a big garden. Beth also canned pickles and many other kinds of produce.  The Ward family always ate meals together because she cooked 3 meals a day.  She was insistent that meals were eaten together and everyone had assigned seats at the dining table. This tradition continued on even when the children had grown into adults.

Beth was always a hard worker. She worked 31 years at Lubbock-Cooper ISD. She serve as a substitute, office aide, bus monitor, cafeteria aide, registrar and ISS Teacher. While working at Cooper she touched many students’ lives.

Her husband owned a machine shop and she was often found in the shop running a drill press, running a grinder, assembling parts, packaging parts, cleaning parts and doing whatever needed to be done to ensure so that an order was ready to shipped by its due date.  She would dive in to any type of work and was never afraid of a challenge.

She will be sorely missed by those who knew her and loved her. She definitely leaves a legacy of honesty, trust, dependability, strength and love.

She is preceded in death by her parents Alton and Johnnie Crabb and her husband E.J. Ward.
Beth is survived by 2 siblings: Joy Faulks and husband Bobby of Hollis, OK and Alton Crabb Junior and wife Jan of Hollis, OK. Other survivors include her 4 children: Eddie Ward wife Teresa of Roswell, NM; Brenda Radloff of Lubbock; Steven Ward and wife Angie of Harelton, TX; and Jenae Ward of Lubbock. Also surviving her are 14 grandchildren: Matthew Radloff, E.J. Ward, Andrew McClain-Ward, Jacob Radloff, Alesha Ward, Kalee Ward, Marley Ward, Haleigh McClain-Ward, Amador Amaya, Adam Oropesa, Xavier Oropesa, Taylor Welch, Dylan Welch and Sydney Welch. Other survivors include: 10 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great granddaughter and a niece, nephew, cousins and an aunt.
Viewing and family visitation will be at Agape Funeral Chapel on Friday, June 26, 2020 from 5-7 p.m.
Graveside services will be held at Fairmount Cemetery in Hollis, OK on Saturday, June 27, 2020 at 2:00 p.m.    

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