Steven Cruthirds, Sr.

STEVEN ANDREW CRUTHIRDS died at his home on April 3, 2006, surrounded by his immediate and extended family. He was 57 years old. Born in Biloxi on October 18, 1948, Steve graduated from Biloxi High School in 1966 where he played baseball. Steve served in the Coast Guard during the Vietnam War when he met and married his wife Alice Watson Cruthirds. She retired as a teacher in 2005 from the Ocean Springs School District. Together they had two sons, Steven Andrew Cruthirds, Jr. and Thomas Watson Cruthirds. Steve furthered his education and obtained a B.A. degree from Troy State University in Business Administration. He spent most of his civil service career working for the Navy in and around Ingalls where he served in a wide array of supervisory and planning positions, much of which centered around the Aegis Cruiser Project. After he retired from the Government, Steve worked as a senior program analyst for Alion Science and Technology. Steve was a good friend to many people and as a result he had many good and close friends, none of whom were ready for him to depart this place. He was passionate about sports, especially fishing, and more recently, golf. A devoted husband, father, grandfather, son and brother, Steve relished those important roles and succeeded in each one. Despite a dispiriting bout with cancer, Steve, with the help of friends and family, summoned up the energy and resolve, following Katrina, to repair for his wife the home he originally built in 1985. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Vanos and Ethel Cruthirds. He is survived by his wife, two sons, daughter-in-law, Andrea Chappell Cruthirds and three grandchildren, Brady Andrew Cruthirds, Hudson Chappell Cruthirds and Ella Caroline Cruthirds(on the way). Survivors also include his two brothers Wayne Vanos Cruthirds and Douglas Clifton Cruthirds, and sister, Patti Cruthirds Golden, all of Biloxi, his mother-in-law, Olivette Watson of Excel, AL, together with sixteen nieces and nephews and fifteen grand nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers the family would request that memorials be made to the American Cancer Society, 417 Security Square, Gulfport, MS., 39507. Visitation will be on Tuesday, April 4, 2006, from 5-8 PM, at the Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home. On Wednesday, April 5, 2006, there will be a 1 PM church service at Beauvoir United Methodist Church. Burial will follow in Biloxi National Cemetery at 2 PM. View and sign register book at www.bradfordokeefe.com.