It's similar to the question that is often asked in IL about Speaker Madigan. He took office in 1971 at the age of 28, became Speaker in 1983 at the age of 40, and has remained as Speaker for all but two years since. He's 74 and appears to be in excellent health.
That's an interesting comparison. I'd imagine Craddick more likely to retire since he isn't the God-Emperor of Texas in the same sense as Madigan in Illinois.
It took a good while for Republicans to take control of the Texas House, due to the residual Dixiecrat strength taking a while to die out. And in 2008, there was the mutiny where Craddick's speakership was cut short when he was replaced by the less conservative Joe Straus.
