Wayne Woosley Cribb Jr.

Wayne graduated from the University of Missouri – Columbia and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering. He continued his graduate studies at the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

He married the love of his life Mary Ann Neale on June 14, 1958. They had two children, Matthew Wayne, and Nancy Ann, and enjoyed many camping and travel adventures as a family. They settled in El Toro, California, and enjoyed many lifelong friendships developed on the tennis courts at the Lake Forest Beach and Tennis Club.

A humble man, Wayne worked diligently and quietly on our nation’s defenses for over 40 years at McDonnell Douglas, which was later acquired by The Boeing Company, in Southern California. He received national peer recognition for his work in strategic missile systems from 1958 to 1992. His assignments included developing and testing Thor, Nike Zeus, Sprint, and Spartan systems and early development on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and High Endoatmospheric Defense Interceptor (HEDI) systems. He finished his career working on the International Space Station (ISS) program from 1992 to 1998. Reflecting on his career, he said while he really enjoyed the flight tests at places such as Point Mugu, the Kwajalein Atoll and White Sands Missile Range, “it’s the people I worked with I miss the most.”

Wayne had a passion for tennis, camping, spending time with family and friends, Thunder Basketball, and, first and foremost, his Savior, Jesus Christ. He was a member of Covenant Community Church.

He is survived by his son and wife, Matthew and Leann Cribb, and his daughter and husband, Nancy and Melvin Long. His grandchildren Kelsey Bailey, Carlton Clay (Alyson) Bailey, Jr., Cody Wayne (Ciara) Bailey, Katherine (Jonathan) Dillon, Mackenzie (Ian) Johnstone, and Evan (Jan) Cribb, and great-grandchildren Venus Bailey, Creedon Wayne Bailey, Cantyn Bailey, Clover Bailey, Phoebe Dillon, and Gwynn Johnstone. His brother John Cribb and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his wife Mary, parents Wayne and Alice Cribb, sister Mary Alice Thompson and great-grandchildren Bridgette Ann and Porter Edward Bailey.

A Memorial and Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, May 27, 2023 at Covenant Community Church, 2250 S Yukon Pkwy, Yukon, Oklahoma 73099.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MemorialParkOKC.com for the Cribb family.