Graveside services for Louis Edward “Lou” Crites, 76, of Bonne Terre, Missouri and formerly of Jackson, Missouri, will be held Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 11:00 A.M. in the Sedgewickville Lutheran Cemetery at Sedgewickville, Missouri.  Pastor Jimmie Corbin will be officiating and full military honors will be performed.  He died Friday, April 7, 2023 at Mercy Hospital in Festus, Missouri.  Cremation has taken place under the direction of C.Z. Boyer & Son Funeral Home of Desloge, Missouri.

Lou was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri on August 9, 1946, the son of Thomas Jacob and Sylvia Mae (Henry) Crites. He was raised in Sedgewickville and graduated from Patton High School in 1964.  After graduation, Lou joined the United States Navy serving on a ship in the Atlantic Fleet.  Upon his honorable discharge, he attended Mineral Area College for a short time and then began his career with Proctor & Gamble where he retired after almost 30 years.  He married the former Linda Long and they had one son, Edward “Eddie” Kent Crites.  Lou continued his military service by serving in the United States Naval Reserve and retiring after 20 years.

As a Reservist in the Seabees, he participated in numerous community projects across southeast Missouri and southern Illinois.  He was a member of American Legion Post #158 in Jackson where he assisted in placing flags on Veterans graves in the local cemeteries for Memorial Day for many years.  Lou was also a member of the Millersville Westview Masonic Lodge #103, Sedgewickville United Methodist Church and a “plank owner” in the Seabee Veterans of America, Island X- 5 Cape Girardeau.  He was proud to be an American.

Lou was preceded in death by his parents; paternal grandparents, Dr. Edward and Myrtle Crites; maternal grandparents, Louis and May Henry; and a grandson, Mark Crites.

Survivors include his son, Eddie Crites of Cape Girardeau; three siblings, Tim (Tammy) Crites of Bonne Terre, Connie (Steve) Ferguson of Bloomington, Indiana, and Harold “Hal” Crites (Maggie) of Mission, Kansas; many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Memorials to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Dementia Society of America would be appreciated by the family.