Wallace (Wally) Crawford Jr, age 97, passed peacefully with his family by his side on Jan 8, 2023, at
hospice after a very short illness. He is preceded in death by his loving wife of 66 years, Antoinette
Crawford and his daughter, Patricia Crawford. He is survived by his 3 children, William, Douglas (Sheryl)
and Robert (Lorie) along with his grandchildren Alyssa Johnson (Chris), Jennifer Balthaser, Kyle (Nikki) &
Brittany Crawford, Patrick & Blake Crawford. His great grandchildren, Christopher & Adam Johnson,
Jack Crawford and his sister-in-law, Rebecca Celano.
He was born in New York City Jan 7, 1926, where he met Ann, and they had 3 children. When he was 16
he joined the Civil Air Patrol, by age 17 he joined the Air Cadet program then was called to duty mid-way
through his senior year of high school. He had all the courses needed to graduate so he joined the Air
Force where he served in WWII. After that he became an auxiliary Fire Chief in East Farmingdale with
the NY Fire Department. In the 1960’s he was relocated to Florida for his job where they had their last
son.
Wally was the patriarch of his family, spending his last full day with us on his 97th birthday. He
participated in all our lives and brought joy to us right until then. He was always a hard, dedicated
worker first with GTE, Sperry and then 20 years at the Alachua County School Board as head of the
facilities department.
He was a long-standing member of St Patrick’s Catholic Church and was a project manager for their new
church building after he retired. He was a talented artist, a pilot and enjoyed sailing. He always had a
smile on his face, a generous heart and a positive outlook on everything.
A Memorial Mass will be held for Wally on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, at 1:00 at St Patrick’s Catholic Church
with a short reception to follow. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Haven Hospice.