A LEGACY — Keona Crawford’s impact was apparent at her family’s business, Wise Choice Custom Meats, in Decatur last week. Family members (below, left to right) Josh, Patricia and Lynn Crawford stayed busy as they prepared to serve free Thanksgiving meals — a continuation of Keona’s desire to serve meals to the needy on Thanksgiving before her death in 2019.
In the summer of 2019, Keona Crawford asked her mom if they could do something different for Thanksgiving that year.
Instead of the typical family gathering, Crawford wanted to serve meals at a soup kitchen or church in Fort Worth.
“We made that promise to her,” recalled Keona’s mom, Patricia Crawford. “She said, ‘How can we sit at home and eat when there are so many people hurting?’”
Keona never had the chance to serve those meals on Thanksgiving. In October 2019, Keona was taking Patricia to church near Granbury when tragedy struck.
“We hit a truck and trailer head-on,” Patricia said.
Keona, who was driving that day, passed away instantly. Patricia was flown to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth with severe injuries.
Patricia ultimately survived, but underwent a grueling rehab process in the following months. It couldn’t compare to the pain of gathering around the dinner table for Christmas and seeing that empty chair — the void of the young woman who seemed to always end up including friends who didn’t have a place to celebrate the holidays at their home.
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The first year was especially difficult for the Crawford family, and the thought of trying to do a normal holiday meal seemed untenable. As the holidays neared, the family got together and came up with an idea that would carry on Keona’s wishes for Thanksgiving.
The Crawfords own Wise Choice Meat Custom Meats, a meat market on U.S. 81/287 in Decatur. For the past three years, they have prepared Thanksgiving meals for the community, carrying out Keona’s wishes.
“Going through this whole grief process, I just said, ‘Well, she wanted to feed people on Thanksgiving, let’s do that,’” Patricia said. “We decided we’ll feed people here… I think it’s how God works. He put that on her heart months before Thanksgiving to feed people. I believe this was the purpose.”
Last week, the meat market bustled with activity as Patricia, her husband, Lynn, and their son, Josh, worked to complete orders. Behind the meat counter is a picture of Keona, a constant reminder of why they’re doing this.
MEETING THE NEED — Wise Choice Custom Meats in Decatur will prepare free hot meals on Thanksgiving Day for the third straight year. The business partnered with Wise Area Relief Mission to provide turkeys for WARM’s annual Thanksgiving food drive. Over the last few weeks, dozens of people stopped to collect their dinners with cardboard leaves that have accumulated by the register.
“[Keona’s] thing with Josh was she would always look at him and say, ‘Brother, we’re just going to do it,’” said Patricia when asked what Keona would think about what the family is doing now. “I think she would say what we’re doing is awesome. We feel very blessed to be able to serve. With the loss, we had to try to figure out a way. I just wish that she was here.”
There was a mix of regular customers as well as new faces at the meat market this week who were there to pick-up turkey dinners — people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to have a turkey on the dinner table for Thanksgiving.
This year, Wise Choice Custom Meats partnered with Wise Area Relief Mission (WARM) to provide turkeys for WARM’s annual Thanksgiving food drive after another store was unable to provide the turkeys.
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“People think that we are blessing them, but they are blessing us,” Josh Crawford said.
The City of Chico also pitched in, providing refrigeration space to handle the influx in orders.
Over the years, Patricia has seen the value in providing something as simple as a turkey dinner for someone who needs it. The need isn’t always financial.
“There was a couple that both had cancer.” Patricia said. “They couldn’t physically make Thanksgiving dinner by themselves. They came up to us and told us what it meant to them. We were tired after smoking all those turkeys, but just seeing that and meeting the people, made us realize that this is what we are supposed to do.”
The Crawfords are currently planning on preparing 120 turkeys for Thanksgiving. But to Patricia, the numbers aren’t what matters.
“I don’t care if we do one meal, we’ll do whatever God brings,” she said. “Everybody should have a warm meal on Thanksgiving.”
The Crawfords’ mission — a goal that started as a conversation between a mother and daughter in the summer of 2019 — is to serve free hot meals to all who need one on Thanksgiving day. The family and volunteers will serve meals 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Decatur Visitor Center, 106 S. Trinity in Decatur, and at Chisholm Trail 1803 N. U.S. 81/287 in Decatur, the former location of Hometown Restaurant. They also plan to deliver meals 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
“We’re just thankful people want to spend their thanksgiving with our family,” Patricia said.
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