CRIBBS, Lt. Colonel Jerome JEROME H. CRIBBS 1914-2011 Lieutenant Colonel Jerome H. Cribbs, United States Air Force (retired), 97, of Stockbridge Georgia, formerly of Cleburne, Texas passed away peacefully on March 5, 2011 at his Stockbridge home. A celebration of his life will take place at 5 p.m., March 11, 2011 at Eagles Landing Country Club in Stockbridge, GA. Funeral mass and burial at Arlington National Cemetery will be announced in the near future. Born on 19 February 1914, in Electra, Texas Colonel Cribbs is a veteran of the United States Navy, Army, Army Air Corp, and Air Force. Colonel Cribbs world wide military service spanned thirty years with duty in the Continental United States, Europe and the Pacific. At age fifteen, in 1929, Jerome enlisted in the United States Navy where he spent four years as a medical corpsman. This warrior served the United States Army and Air Force in a wide range of duties during World War II and the Korean conflict. Commissioned a Second Lieutenant through Army ROTC at the University of Arizona, Colonel Cribbs began his Army career as a "pony soldier" leading a platoon of the 8th Horse Calvary Regiment. He was patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border when World War II began. Colonel Cribbs service during World War II was primarily in the Pacific where his Cavalry Platoon was assigned a reconnaissance mission in the South Pacific Solomon Islands. Later, he was the Base Commander in support of military airlift operations on Guadalcanal. In 1947 with enactment of the Defense Reorganization Act, Colonel Cribbs transferred his commission to the United States Air Force. His Air Force career is highlighted by his duties as a Provost Marshall at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana and with the Joint United States Military Advisory Group in Madrid, Spain. After the war Colonel Cribbs duties covered a broad range of responsibilities to include assignments at Air University; within Strategic Air Command; at 16th Air Force, Madrid Spain, and The Pentagon. While stationed at Carswell Air Force Base, Colonel Cribbs met and fell in love with the beautiful flight nurse, Maclovia Cavazos. They were married in 1951 and raised four children Maria, Jerome, Carlos and Juan Miguel. Colonel Cribbs retired in 1957 and spent fifty years as a school teacher, principal and community leader in Cleburne, Texas. He was founder and first President of the Johnson County Rural Water Supply Corporation, one of the largest rural water cooperations in the state of Texas. His civic contributions include serving as president of the Cleburne Kiwanis Club and leading the effort to establish a Volunteer Fire Department for rural residents who were denied city fire protection services. After serving his country proudly in three different uniforms, as a schoolteacher and as a community leader, Colonel Cribbs retired in Stockbridge, Georgia. He is survived by his wife of sixty years Maclovia Cribbs of Stockbridge, GA, daughter Maria Owens and husband Tom of Arlington VA, son Jerome Cribbs and wife Sam of Lake Spivey GA, son Carlos Cribbs and wife Moon of Okinawa, Japan, son Juan Cribbs and wife Jennifer of Berryville, AR, grandchildren Sebastian and Jordan Cribbs. Jerome Cribbs is best known for his unwavering integrity, strong leadership and most especially for his mentoring the students he taught. He loved life and all the adventures it offered. He was a faithful Roman Catholic and deeply patriotic American. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital . Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on March 8, 2011