DR. ROBERT MORRIS CRISLER

Funeral Services will be held at Delhomme Funeral Home Chapel of the Flowers at 11:00 am on Monday, April 1, 2013 for Dr. Robert Morris Crisler, 92, who passed away on March 23, 2013, at AMG Specialty Hospital in Lafayette, LA. Pastor Robert Miller of First Lutheran Church, Lafayette, LA will conduct the funeral services and Dr. Timothy F. Reilly, longtime family friend and Professor at ULL, will give the eulogy. Interment will take place in Lafayette Protestant Cemetery at a later date. Dr. Crisler was the son of the late Dr. Otto Smith and Ruby Buckman Crisler. He was born on January 5, 1921, in Columbia, Missouri. He graduated from Hickman High School in 1937, at the age of 16. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1941, and was a graduate assistant at Northwestern University in Illinois when he was drafted to serve in the Army during WWII. After serving in the North African Campaign and the Italian Campaign as a member of the 88th Division, he separated from the military in February, 1946, as a 1st Lieutenant and received a Purple Heart with one oak leaf. Dr. Crisler then returned to graduate school at Northwestern University in Illinois earning Masters and Doctorate degrees in Geography. His first teaching assignment was at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1948. In 1950 he was recalled for the Korean Conflict, assigned to the Pentagon, and worked for the CIA as an intelligence officer. Discharged in 1952, he returned to teach at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He moved to Lafayette, LA, in 1954 where he was a Professor of Geography and Head of the Department of Social Studies at Southwestern Louisiana Institute and University of Southwestern Louisiana (now known as University of Louisiana-Lafayette). Dr. Crisler served as a Louisiana State Representative from 1972-1976 for District 45. Throughout his life he was an avid collector of license plates. He enjoyed traveling, attending license plate meets, and working in his yard. As a member of the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association (ALPCA) he served the club in many capacities. He was also a member of the Louisiana Retired Teachers Association, American Legion Post 69, Pinhook Rotary Club, Louisiana Historical Association, Mizzou Alumni Association, Geological Sciences Alumni of the University of Missouri, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and SCORE, counseling new business owners. He was a former President of the USL Credit Union and a member of First Lutheran Church in Lafayette. Dr. Crisler is survived by his sons, Charles Robert Crisler and his wife Penny, and John Allen Crisler and his wife Carla; grandchildren, Dr. Jennifer Robin (Chris) Crisler-Roberts, Jeffery Allen (Edna) Crisler, Melinda Jo Crisler, Andrew John (Amanda) Crisler, Mia Elizabeth Crisler, and Max Stanton Crisler; great-grandchildren Alexandria, Cabel, and Royce Crisler. He was preceded in death by his first wife Shirley Spohn Crisler, his second wife Freda Erickson Crisler and his parents Dr. Otto S. and Ruby Crisler. The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Delhomme Funeral Home on Bertrand Drive on Sunday, March 31, 2013 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Visiting hours will continue on Monday from 8:00 am until time of service. Interment will be in a private ceremony at Lafayette Protestant Cemetery at a later date. The family would like to thank his loyal caretaker, Gloria Landry, and the staff of Paramount Hospice, AMG Specialty Hospital, and Emeritus Assisted Living. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Personal condolences may be sent to the Crisler family at www.delhommefuneralhome.com. Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA is in charge of funeral arrangements.

DR. ROBERT MORRIS CRISLER

January 5, 1921 - March 23, 2013