JOSEPH WALLACE CROFT, JR.

Joseph Wallace Croft, Jr. passed away in Westerville, Ohio, on Saturday, March 7, 2026, at the age of 83.

Graveside services with military honors were held at noon on Saturday, March 14, in the Prairie Grove Cemetery (Mexia, Texas).

Major Joseph W. Croft, USAF retired, was born in Mexia, Texas on Nov. 15, 1942, to Joseph Wallace Croft, Sr. and Margrette Larue Brown Croft. Major Croft attended Cisco College and McMurry University. Majoring in physics, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin where he then went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Mathematics.

Major Croft served in the United States Air Force as both a C130 and C141 navigator. He had multiple deployments to Viet Nam and was a highly-decorated veteran, receiving among many honors the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. He had the opportunity to travel worldwide, including Antarctica.

Major Croft taught mathematics at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas and for Embry-Riddle University at Dyess Air Force Base. He was a C130 navigation instructor and systems administrator for Lockheed Martin at the C130 ATS Simulator at Dyess Air Force Base until his retirement.

He was a member of Southwest Park Baptist Church of Abilene, where he and his wife Libby taught Sunday School for several years.

Major Croft was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph, Sr. and Margrette Croft.

Survivors include: his beloved wife of 62 years, Libby Ann Stischer Croft of Reynoldsburg, Ohio; his daughter, Sharon Elizabeth Croft, Ph.D. of Columbus, Ohio; his son, David Wallace Croft and daughter-inlaw Shannon Croft of Dallas, Texas; his son, Steven Morris Croft and daughterin- law Tammie Croft of Groesbeck, Texas; his sister, Elizabeth Louise Hewitt of Groesbeck, Texas; his sister, Janie Lucille Williams of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and his sister-in-law, Lita Kay Holland of San Antonio, Texas. He has four nephews, two nieces, nine grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.

Memorials in lieu of flowers may be made to the West Texas Rehabilitation Center of Abilene, the Alzheimer’s Association, or a charity of your choice.

Please visit www.groesbeckfuneralhome. leave messages of condolence on the guestbook.