Lowell D. Crites

Lowell D. Crites, age 89, of Ney, Ohio, passed away at 4:01 P.M. on Friday, January 8, 2021, at Toledo Hospital in Toledo, Ohio, from injuries sustained in a traffic accident on January 3, 2021, near his home. Mr. Crites was a 1949 graduate of Ney High School and was a veteran of the United States Army, serving from 1951-1953. He was a lifelong dairy farmer and enjoyed tinkering and making something out of nothing. Lowell could fix anything and even built his own cannon that sets prominently in his front yard for people to see. He was a former board member of the Ney Co-op and attended the Ney United Methodist Church. Lowell D. Crites was born on April 23, 1931, in Defiance County, the son of Charles and Izona (Peterson) Crites. He married Mary Jane Brunner on June 15, 1951, at the Union Chapel Church of God and she survives. Surviving in addition to his wife are two sons, Gary (Vickie) Crites and Greg (Sharon) Crites both of Ney; one daughter, Jody (Garold) Keppeler, of Edgerton, Ohio; six grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; fifteen great-grandchildren; ten step-great-grandchildren; and one brother, Marvin Crites, of Bryan, Ohio. He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, Olin, Arthur and John Crites; and a great-granddaughter, Isabelle Grace White. A public graveside service will be held on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, at 1:00 P.M. in the Ney Cemetery with Reverend Ron Adkins officiating. Graveside military rites will be conducted by the Ney and Farmer American Legion and Sherwood VFW Joint Honor Guard and the United States Army Honor Guard. Memorials are requested to Defiance County VFW. Due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions, the family requests that friends observe social distancing precautions and use masks in accordance with state mandates. Anyone showing any symptoms of illness is asked to please share condolences by a phone call, email, text message, or by leaving a condolence at the funeral home website.