He was born on August 22, 1924 in Baltimore, Maryland, son of the late Irvin W. and Anna Marie (Kolbl) Crawford. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Jeanne Rose (O’Connor) Crawford.
Mr. Crawford was a veteran of WWII, and served in the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers in the European Theater, arriving in Normandy following D-Day. He participated in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine including the Battle of the Bulge. He was a member of St. John Catholic Church in Westminster and 4th degree Knight of Columbus. Active for most of his life, he was a life-long cyclist, and enjoyed working on puzzles, and gardening. He was a “tinkerer and puttered around”, avid Raven’s fan, and collected American flags. The line “he flew a flag in his yard until the day that he died” sums up his patriotic spirit. In recent years he enjoyed walking the family dog, Jessie, and spending time in his lazy boy.
Surviving him in addition to his wife are children, Dennis E. Crawford and wife Linda of Baltimore, Lois E. Parks and husband Richard of Wetumpka, AL, Timothy S. Crawford of Vero Beach, FL, and Lisa Hecker and husband Fred S. Hecker of Westminster; sister, Patricia Bunke and sister-in-law, Helen Crawford both of MD; 7 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a daughter, Maureen M. Crawford, a sister, Delores Dix and brother, Raymond Crawford.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on the anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John Catholic Church with Rev. Fr. John F. Lesnick officiating, family and friends may gather at 10:30 a.m. at the church. Interment with military honors will be held at Deer Park Methodist Cemetery, Westminster. The family will receive friends on Friday, June 5th from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home, 91 Willis St, Westminster, with a Christian Wake service at 7:30 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Carroll Hospice, 292 Stoner Ave., Westminster, MD 21157 or to the Humane Society of CC, 2517 Littlestown Pike, Westminster, MD 21158.