Cristil Funeral Set for Wednesday

TUPELO, Miss. (Press Release) — Funeral services for Mr. Jacob Sanford “Jack” Cristil, 88, of Tupelo will be held Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014, at 11 a.m. at Holland Funeral Directors in Tupelo. Interment will follow at Lee Memorial Park in Verona. Visitation will be held from 4-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9 and again on Wednesday, Sept. 10 from 9 -11 a.m.

On Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014, at 6 p.m., Mississippi State University will host a public memorial service honoring Mr. Cristil in the Humphrey Coliseum.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Mr. Cristil died Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014, at Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo following an extended illness.

At the Tupelo service on Wednesday, MSU President Mark E. Keenum will deliver a welcome. Former MSU athletic director Larry Templeton of Starkville will deliver the eulogy with Marc Perler of Temple B’Nai Israel in Tupelo officiating.

From 1953 until 2011, Cristil was for 58 years the sports radio voice of the Mississippi State University Bulldogs.

During his early years working at Mississippi State, Cristil served in advertising sales at WELO Radio and later WTVA-TV in Tupelo, Miss., where he resided since 1955.

Cristil was a veteran of World War II, serving as an aircraft engine mechanic in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was a faithful member and longtime lay rabbi at Temple B’Nai Israel in Tupelo. Cristil was a Mason.

Cristil studied broadcast journalism at the University of Minnesota after World War II.

He is survived by daughters Kay Cristil Clouatre of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Rebecca Cristil Nelson (Andrew) of Tupelo; and grandchildren Jake Clouatre of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Lindsey Newhall of Tupelo. He is also survived by two sisters, Zelda Cristil Esgro of St Louis, Missouri, and Miriam “Mimi” Cristil Lapides of West Palm Beach, Florida; and a number of nieces and nephews.

Mr. Cristil was preceded in death by his wife of 33 years, Mavis Kelly Cristil, in 1988. He was also preceded in death by his parents, Mollie Kabakoff Cristil and Benjamin Herman Cristil of Memphis; by a sister, Charlotte Cristil Hiller; and by brothers Harold Cristil and Stanley Cristil.

In lieu of flowers, the Cristil family requests donations to either of the Cristil scholarships at MSU (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/811/give/mobile/mobile.aspx?sid=811&gid=1&pgid=1315&cid=4668), the Girl Scouts Heart of the South (www.girlscoutshs.org), Temple B’Nai Israel in Tupelo (http://shalomtupelo.com) or Sanctuary Hospice House (www.sanctuaryhospicehouse.com).