Thoughts and memories about brother Craig Ponder
By Don Henderson Epsilon Chi 1962
Updated 1/28/21
During Craig’s memorial, several speakers spoke of their memories of him.
Unfortunately, sitting in the back of a church when one has poor hearing is not
conducive to hearing everything. Some of the things I was able to hear reminded of
why Craig had been a good friend. His brother spoke of Craig’s first car, a 1951
Studebaker, with a space in the trunk for the spare tire. Craig iced his beer down in
this area. (Fraternity practice for later?) A commonality among of all the speakers
indicated Craig’s love of a good joke; especially dirty ones. Another thing was clear;
Craig was good at everything he did. Well, there was an exception. Football was not
one of his accomplishments. If you know anything about Port Neches, you know that
it is a football town. Everything revolved around football. Craig’s physical attributes
did not match well for sports, especially not football. As I set hearing some of these
things, I was thinking of some of my own memories.
Ardis Havard called me Jan 7 at about 3:30 in the afternoon to tell me news that I did
not want to hear. At the time I did not think I would be able to go, but the more I
thought about it, the more I thought I needed to be there. Ardis had indicated that he
and Kay would be unable to attend. It wasn’t until today when I received an email
from Ardis that I realized, Ardis, Kay, and I were all there at Craig’s memorial. We
never saw each other. Maybe they can supply more about the memorial.
The passing of Brother Craig Ponder came as sad news for us all. More than anyone
that has recently passed, Craig’s passing seemed to squarely strike home. The last few
years I have lost several very good high school friends, a few work friends and my
dear mother in law and father in law, but the passing of Craig was different. Although
I had not seen Craig in at least 20 years; my last memory of him was as my son’s
doctor. My youngest son, Blake, injured his knee while playing soccer and we went to
Dr. Ponder for a second opinion. Craig and I discussed our ’88 Reunion that we had
recently attended. I guess what struck me most is that it has now been more than 20
years since I last saw him. We all go about our daily lives, pursuing our careers, taking
care of our families, getting through each day and suddenly twenty years have passed.
Some of the people that you considered friends are no longer in your immediate circle;
therefore you tend to lose contact with them.
It’s funny how our circle of friends expands, changes and ultimately shrinks. We all
have known our childhood friends, some we still have contact with. Our circle of
friends also includes our immediate family, church, our work, our college, including
our Sig brothers. Recently I attended my own 50 year high school class reunion and
as any reunion it placed me in a reflective mood. Some that attended my reunion have
already passed away. During this time of reflection, we all begin to reevaluate our
lives, realizing that God did not build us to last forever.
When I attended Craig’s memorial service Jan 8, 2009, I was impressed with all
that Craig had accomplished. I began to remember many things about Craig and our
former circle of friends. One thing that was somewhat lacking in his memorial was his
Sigma Chi circle of friends. His fraternity connection was barely mentioned. We all
know a lot more about Craig’s Sigma Chi connection. I also began to reflect on my
own connection with where Craig grew up. It was my good fortune to live with my
step father, mother and sister (Vivien Powers) in Pt. Neches. Vivien and I commuted
to Lamar while living at home. Many of us did this, including Craig Ponder. On
occasion Craig and I would ride together. I suppose the other reason that Craig’s
death was so reflective for me is because my sister, Vivien, graduated from Pt. Neches
in 1959 and Craig in 1960. Port Neches became my adoptive hometown and PNG my
second high school. I never went to PNG, but I have been very much connected since
I began visiting there during the summers starting in 1947. You can not be around
PNG people without feeling their enthusiasm for their school and their town. I did
much of my “growing up” in the Golden Triangle”. From 1958-1962 I commuted to
Lamar and graduated in 1962. Craig was one of the several Port Neches people that I
already knew because of Vivien. She was involved in everything at PNG as well as at
Lamar. Viv was a nominee for Sweetheart of Sigma Chi. As Viviens’s 1959
graduation year approaches, many other memories have begun to surface. Vivien and
her husband, Mac Ingram (one of my best friends) were killed in a car accident in
1967. I have recently been going through all of Vivien things and so I have had Pt.
Neches on my mind. Craig’s passing has added to these old memories. In 1961 Craig,
along with the other charter members of Epsilon Chi, were initiated into Sigma Chi.
This historic event was the culmination of many years of hard work by our local
Kappa Phi group. Craig Ponder was a big contributing factor in all of this. We were
initiated jointly with Sam Houston, Feb 11, 1961 at the old Shamrock Hilton in
downtown Houston. Prior to this in Beaumont, we all were given our Sigma Chi
manuals and told to study for a Sigma Chi History exam as part of our initiation. The
reason that I mention this is because I remember Craig made one of the highest scores
, not only in our group, but one of the highest in the nation. This came as no surprise
to anyone who knew Craig. During a earlier semester Craig and I ended up in the
same Organic Chemistry class.. He set the curve for the class. I did too, but on the
other end.
My brothers, Craig's family and friends, we salute the life of this outstanding
individual. May his memories always remain in our hearts as we each pursue our own
destiny. Return to
All honor to his name.