Lionel Craver, 84, passed away peacefully surrounded by his three children on May 22, 2023. He was preceded in death by his wife, Rebecca (Becky) McDowell Craver; his parents Emelene and Lionel Craver; and his brother George Phillip Craver. He is survived by children Bill (Cindy) Craver of Portland, OR; Laura (Dan) Buerger of Pittsburgh, PA; and Jenny (Wesley) Vestal of Houston, TX; eleven beloved grandchildren; and his siblings Mary Craver, Jim (Carol) Craver, and Tom Craver (Karen Burrell).

Raised in Midland, TX, Lionel graduated from Midland High School, then enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin where he received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Lionel was an athletic young man, played football in high school and won the national college championship as a member of the University of Texas handball team. Lionel and Becky met in college and celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 2011 with their children and grandchildren. Lionel earned his M.S. at the University of New Mexico in 1964 while working for Sandia National Laboratory and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma in 1970. Lionel then joined the faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) where he taught for 39 years, served as Chairman of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department twice, and published two engineering textbooks & numerous academic papers. From 1986 to 1995 he received several significant research grants to support UTEP's involvement in the nascent wind energy industry. In 1996 he was awarded a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for "a program for increasing minority participation in Engineering", the largest grant the university had received to that date. He received $1.7M in project funding during his tenure at UTEP. Lionel spoke with great pride of his students, whom he advised & mentored toward successful careers. In 1990, Lionel received the UTEP Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence, and in 2009 was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus.

Lionel was disciplined, hard-working, mild-mannered, optimistic, and known to all as a consummate, chivalrous gentleman. A renaissance man, Lionel relished the tales of his free and wild youth in Texas and his hunting days with cousins, brothers and grandfather, shared his love of poetry which he inherited from his mother, and enjoyed music of all kinds, from classical to country. He delighted in a good story and a hearty laugh. Lionel shared his passion for the outdoors with his children, friends, and other family by leading many backpacking trips within the Gila Wilderness of Southern New Mexico. A loving, family-centric man, he was immensely proud of his wife, children, and grandchildren.

After 40 years in El Paso, Lionel and Becky moved to their dream house in Santa Fe, NM in 2010. After Becky's passing in 2013, he enjoyed the companionship of his "sweetheart", Jeanne Jacobs, for 5 years until she passed away in 2019. Lionel spent the last three years of his life in Pittsburgh near his daughter, Laura, at the retirement community of Friendship Village of the South Hills, surrounded by caring new friends and wonderful caregivers and known by his trademark cowboy hat and happy demeanor. Memorial services will be held Wednesday, June 14, at 2:00 in the Friendship Lodge Room at Friendship Village of the South Hills in Pittsburgh, PA, and Saturday, August 12, near Dallas, TX (details to follow) followed by a private interment at the historic family cemetery in Terrell, TX.