❧ The story behind the place ❧
About Wings of Kritter Ridge
A place built from memories, family stories, and a name that still feels like home.
Hi, I’m Carrie
I’m glad you’re here. I’m gathering the pictures, stories, and family history I’ve wanted to keep together and share with our families.
I want this to be a gathering place—somewhere we can stay connected, learn more about ourselves and where we came from, and remember the people we love.
A favorite saying, a family photograph, or a little memory from an ordinary day can mean so much. This site is still growing, and I hope you’ll be part of it.
— Carrie
Wings of Kritter Ridge grew from love, loss, and the belief that families deserve a gentler way to face difficult conversations.
My husband, Tony, died in December 2022. My brother, John, died in October 2025. Their deaths were different, but both changed the shape of everyday life. I wanted a place where practical planning, grief, remembrance, and family history could live together instead of being separated into tidy categories that real life never respects.
Kritter Ridge was the home Tony loved. The name carries that sense of home into this website: a place for honest information, preserved stories, personal memorials, family photographs, and research that explains what is known without pretending uncertainty does not exist.
The Story Behind the Brand
The symbol you see on this site began as Tony’s farm brand. During his life, he told me he wanted to modify it to include me. I thought that was beautiful because I knew how much that brand meant to him.
After Tony passed, I had the brand modified to include a C for Carrie and got it as my first tattoo.
The butterfly was an unexpected addition. We hadn’t discussed adding one, but when I arrived and the tattoo artist showed me her design, I almost cried. Every time I see a butterfly, I think of my Granny Buff. Seeing it there felt right.
What began as Tony’s farm brand now holds a connection to him, to me, and to Granny Buff. That’s why it belongs here at Wings of Kritter Ridge.
What you will find here
Practical help
Planning checklists, conversation starters, support ideas, and resources for the administrative side of illness and death.
Honest grief
Writing that allows grief to be complicated, ordinary, lasting, and different for every person.
Memorials
Growing pages for John and Tony, centered on their lives and the love that continues after death.
Family history
Genealogy, photographs, stories, research notes, and evidence standards for the Buffington, Caudle, Johnson, and connected families.
I am not a doctor, therapist, lawyer, or funeral professional. I am a widow, a sister, and a family historian sharing what I have learned and building the kind of resource I wish more families had before they needed it.
— Carrie Johnson
Connect with Kritter Ridge
Follow along on Facebook for family stories, memorials, thoughtful conversations about grief, and new additions to Wings of Kritter Ridge.