Patrolman Donald Henry Crittendon, age 24, died March 21, 1961, of gunshot wounds he received in a gun battle on March 10, 1961 in the line-of-duty. Patrolman Crittendon's resignation from the Department to accept another position elsewhere would have become effective at 11 p.m. that night, 1 1/2 hours after the shooting occurred.
Donald H. Crittendon was born April 14, 1936, in Piggott, Arkansas. He graduated from Kennett High School where he had starred in football and track for four years. He attended State College in Cape Girardeau for a term before entering the U.S. Navy in 1955. While stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, he and Roceda Joyce Lillard, of Senath, were married on August 30, 1958. Following his discharge from the service on September 5, 1957, he again entered State College where he enrolled in two courses.
Prior to joining the Cape Girardeau Police Department in September 1959, he worked at Davis Electric Co. He served the Missouri State Highway Patrol as a driver-examiner and served as a deputy to Juvenile Officer Jay Nations.
Survivors included his wife, Mrs. Roceda Crittendon, and two daughters, Jeri Dawn and Teri Lynn, of the home; his parents Mr. and Mrs. Elza H. Crittendon, of Kennett; two brothers, Jack and Ronald Crittendon, of Kennett; three sisters, Mrs. Max Hostetler of West Memphis, Arkansas, Mrs. John Higgins, of Cape Girardeau, and Kay Crittendon, of Kennett; maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. S.H. Bradshaw, and paternal grandmother, Mrs. Nora Crittendon, all of Kennett. The funeral was in Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau.
In respect and recognition for Patrolman Crittendon, who gave his life while serving the Cape Girardeau Police Department, the badge number 23 (DSN 23) assigned to Patrolman Crittendon will remain his and shall never be used by another officer on the City's police force.