Jo Frances Crass

Jo Frances (Royal) Crass, 79, of Cypress (Houston), Texas, passed away suddenly at home on January 1, 2026, following a cardiac event. She was born in Monroe, Louisiana, on March 5, 1946, the only child of Joe Theron Royal and Dathana Marie (Coody) Royal.

Jo graduated from Fair Park High School in Shreveport and began her career at Atlas Processing (later Pennzoil). She raised two children before moving to Kingwood (Houston) in 1988, where she later remarried. In Houston, she worked for Pennzoil and subsequently for Amdahl, where in 1990 she met her husband, Don Crass, and they married in 1993.

A devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and Christian, Jo was a longtime member of several churches, most recently Church Story congregation. In her later years, she was an active volunteer in the Stephen Ministry where she spent many years caring for the elderly with compassion and grace.

Jo and Don shared a love of travel. Together they enjoyed road trips visiting national parks and the beautiful Texas landscape. Jo enjoyed the outdoors, including memorable trips like cruising Alaska and visiting botanical gardens with family.

Jo had an endless love of reading, with shelves overflowing with the mysteries, novels, and documentaries she consumed that included a substantial collection of books she amassed over the years. As a mother, she was wonderfully creative in the kitchen, preparing meals and delighting family with her experiments, candies, and homemade dishes. She poured that same creativity into school projects, always the first to help, typing reports late into the night and doing whatever it took to support her children.

Jo also had a lifelong tender heart for animals, especially cats and dogs. If she saw one lost on the side of the road, she brought it home without hesitation. Jo’s deep love for animals included faithfully tending to and registering a feral cat colony in her neighborhood, ensuring they had food, water, and shelter. Her family have memories shaped by her compassion, imagination, and the love she gave so freely.

She is survived by her husband of 33 years, Don Crass; her children, John Lindsay and husband Thom Allen, and Julie (Lindsay) Kirsch and husband Kenny Kirsch; and her grandchildren Taylor, Kirby, Nick, and Rylie Kirsch, and great granddaughter, Delaney Kirsch; Stepson and stepdaughter Mike and Jennifer Crass. Jo was preceded in death by her grandson, Andre Kirsch

Jo will be buried at the Houston National Cemetery on Thursday, January 8, 2026, at 1:00 PM.