Dorothy Phelps

A Mass of Christian Burial for Dorothy Craddock Phelps will be held Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 11:00 AM at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception with the Rev. Monsignor Milam J. Joseph officiating. Interment will follow at the Cathedral in the Pines Cemetery in Tyler under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Home. Mrs. Phelps passed away Monday, November 8, 2010, at her home after a long illness. A native of Waco, Mrs. Phelps was born July 9, 1926. She spent her early years working in her family’s grocery store and later graduated from Waco High School. After World War II, she resided in South Bend, Indiana of Notre Dame University, where in 1948 she received a special diploma from Notre Dame’s Father Ted Hesburgh. In 1951, she moved to Tyler and joined the Immaculate Conception parish. During the following years she played an active role in the St. Gregory and Tyler Catholic High School Mother’s Club. Volunteering for the schools, she served as the president of the Mother’s Club and worked diligently on various fund raising projects including the popular Christmas bazaar. In 1965, Dorothy entered the retail business in Tyler with the opening of the Grow-N-Stick children’s apparel shop. The store became her pride and joy because she dearly loved helping customers and their children. In 1973, the store expanded and moved to Broadway Square Mall with the new name of Craddocks of Tyler. The family business became a great source of fulfillment for Mrs. Phelps, both professionally and personally. Mrs. Phelps was preceded in death by her parents, Hulda and Samuel Mormino; her first son, John Raymond Craddock; her first husband John Craddock; and her sister Augusta Flanagan. She is survived by her loving family including her husband, Robert Phelps of Emerald Bay; her children, Claudia Cleneay and husband Bill of Tyler, Connie Tennison of Jacksonville, Carol Boyle of Tyler, John Craddock, II of Dallas, Tom and Candace Phelps of Clovis, New Mexico, Jenny and Dave Phelps of Kerrville, Jim Phelps of Houston, and Don Phelps of St. Charles, Illinois; grandchildren, Amy and Daniel Rojo of Jacksonville, Christopher Howell of Portland, Oregon, Billy Mack and April Tennison of Jacksonville, Tracy and Kelly Boyle of Tyler, Todd and Lisa Phelps of Denver, Colorado, Cyndi Phelps of New York, Mason and Elizabeth Phelps of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Patton Phelps of Houston, and Miles and Paige Phelps of St. Charles, Illinois; great-grandchildren, Jacob Simpson and Caisson Tennison of Jacksonville, and Hogan and Palmer Phelps of Denver, Colorado; and her only surviving sibling, Judge Raymond Mormino, of Waco. Pallbearers will be Christopher Howell, Billy Mack Tennison, Bill Cleneay, Tom Phelps, Steven Mormino, and Marc Mormino. Visitation is scheduled from 6:00 -7:00 PM on Friday, November 12, 2010 with the Rosary following at 7:00 PM with Rev. Monsignor Joseph Strickland officiating, at Stewart Family Funeral Home, 7525 Old Jacksonville Hwy., Tyler, Texas 75703. Memorials in honor of Dorothy Craddock Phelps may be made to the Alzheimer’s Alliance of Smith County, 211 Winchester, Tyler, 75701.

Dorothy Phelps

July 9, 1926 - November 8, 2010