Donald Melvin Crawford 1929 - 2008

CRAWFORD, HAYWARD, PYLE

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 5/6/2019 at 19:29:08

Sioux City Journal
13 April 2008

SCHALLER, Iowa -- Don Crawford, 78, of Schaller died Thursday, April 10, 2008, at a Sioux City hospital.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Schaller. Burial will be in Schaller Cemetery, with full military rites by VFW Post 4704 of Schaller. Visitation will be 3 to 7 p.m. today, with the family present 5 to 7 p.m., at Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Schaller.

Those who wish to send online condolences to the family may do so via the funeral home Web site: www.fratzkejensen.com.

Donald Melvin Crawford was born June 29, 1929, in Battle Creek, Iowa, the son of Forrest and Anna (Hayward) Crawford. He was educated at a country school near Battle Creek, then in Ida Grove schools before his family moved to Schaller. Don graduated from Schaller High School in 1946. He joined the U.S. Army and served during the Korean conflict. A lifelong patriot, Don was a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4704 in Schaller.

On June 12, 1955, Don was united in marriage to Margaret Pyle at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Schaller. The couple were blessed with three children, Lynn, Ellen and Ann. Don owned and operated a farm implement dealership in Schaller for many years, until his retirement in 1992. He and Margaret would have been married for 53 years this coming June.

Don was actively involved in community affairs in Schaller. He served on the Schaller City Council, was a member of the Schaller Chamber of Commerce and served on the Schaller Volunteer Fire Department. He was also a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Schaller. He loved being outside and invested a great deal of time in pursuits that let him spend time in the great outdoors. He enjoyed his annual deer hunt and was a collector of guns. Don also had a passion for classic cars and loved to polish up those he owned. He was a history buff who made a point to never stop learning; in his later years he was proud to master operating computers. Don also enjoyed camping and liked to take his family camping in the western U.S. Whether on a camping trip or at home, spending time with his family and friends was always a priority and a joy for Don. A kind and gentle man, he will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Margaret of Schaller; his daughters, Lynn Crawford of Fort Morgan, Colo., Ellen and husband, Brian Buchholtz and Ann Crawford, all of Prescott, Ariz.; his grandchildren, Nicholas and Matthew Buchholtz of Tempe, Ariz., and Paige and Reid Price of Prescott, Ariz.; his sister Joyce Olbertz of Storm Lake, Iowa; sister and brother-in-law, Jan and Tom Watson of Schaller; sister-in-law, Cheri Haack of Schaller; and many nieces and nephews and countless friends.

Don was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Floyd; and two sisters, Annabelle Irvin and Beth Eyler.