CRAWFORD, Gordon Smith

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona, Thursday, February 12, 2015 Gordon Crawford, born Nov. 13, 1920, in Oroville, California, to Charles and Helen Crawford, passed away at Marley House on Feb. 8, 2015, at the age of 94. He belonged to the Boy Scouts of America and earned his Eagle Scout rank before the age of 14. He graduated from Oroville High School in 1939 and Yuba Junior College in 1941 and attended UC Berkeley. He served in WWII attached to the 82nd Airborne Division and was proud be part of the "Greatest Generation." During the landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day, he flew on gliders behind enemy lines to set up communications. If you asked Gordon how long he served, his answer would be two years, 11 months and 27 days. He was a member of the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 16 in Prescott. He started work at Western Electric in 1941 as a janitor and worked his way up to becoming only one of four installation supervisors in Northern California. He then went on to become a department chief and assistant manager. On July 1, 1969, he married the love of his life, Lucille Bowman, in the Fern Grotto on Kauai, Hawaii. After leaving Western Electric, he became operations manager of the West Coast for Cory Coffee Systems. He retired in 1979 as the head of their vending division. Gordon and Lucille moved to Prescott, Arizona, in 1982, where he became an avid volunteer, primarily through the Telephone Pioneers of America, of which he was a member since 1962. He joined the Thumb Butte Club of the Telephone Pioneers and held the office of vice president and president. In addition, he was state representative for Life Members for two years and vice president for the Colorado Chapter for two years. While president of the local Telephone Pioneers Chapter, he worked with the City of Prescott to get the first "Red Ribbon" campaign started. He brought the "Hug-a-Bear" program to the club. He also worked with the Chamber of Commerce in starting the annual Granite Creek cleanup project. He represented the Telephone Pioneers at the Mayor's Alliance Against Substance Abuse and the Governor's Alliance Against Substance Abuse. He headed up and worked checkpoints for the annual Walk America for two years. He started the Highway Clean-Up Program for all 17 Telephone Pioneer clubs in Arizona and assisted the Oregon Telephone Pioneers in starting their program. In addition, he was on the Board of Directors for the Yavapai Symphony Association, served as a volunteer representative on the Urban/Wildlife Interface Commission, was on the Board of Directors for the Silent Witness program, and repaired Talking Books for 20 years. He also served five years on the ARC review committee for Haisley Homestead, serving four of those years as committee chair. He held many other volunteer positions, too numerous to mention. Gordon was happiest when he was helping other people and could always be counted on to help when needed. He loved traveling, especially cruising. He and Lucille traveled the U.S. for three years in their RV and went on 32 cruises. They visited all seven continents and 53 states and islands. Gordon's only criteria for cruising was a bed, good food, and a dance floor -especially a dance floor. He was preceded in death by this parents and older brother. He is survived by his loving wife, Lucille; daughters Marianne Nielsen (Duke) of Grants Pass, Oregon, and Sharon Bozman (Steve) of Santa Clara, California; brothers-in-law Ed Carpenter (Bev) of Economy, Indiana, and Jim Carpenter (Marlene) of Port Clinton, Ohio; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was a loving and caring husband and father. He was a member of The Prescott United Methodist Church. A celebration of Gordon's life will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, at the church at 505 W. Gurley St., Prescott. His body has been donated to Science Care. His final resting place will be at the Prescott VA Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gordon's name at The Prescott Methodist Church Outreach Programs, 505 W. Gurley St., Prescott, or Prescott Hospice Good Samaritan Society, 1065 Ruth St., Prescott, or Disabled American Veterans, 730 North 5th St., Prescott, or a charity of your choice. The family would like to thank Pastor Alberts, Leigh Downey, Mildred Price, and all the nurses and CNAS at Good Samaritan Hospice for their compassionate and loving care given to Gordon. Information provided by survivors.