William Smith Craig Jr (1924 - 2012)

Born 26 Oct 1924 in Desdemona, Eastland, Texas, United States

Ancestors

Died 14 Jun 2012 at age 87 in Comanche, Texas, United States

Biography

William was born in 1924. He was the son of William Craig and Ruth Wilhite. He passed away in 2012.

Obituary

William “Bill” Craig, Jr., age 87, passed away on Thursday, June 14, 2012, in Comanche, Texas.

He was born on October 26, 1924, in Desdemona, Texas, the second child of William S. and Ruth (Wilhite) Craig. Bill attended school in Desdemona. He served two tours of duty in the United States Army during, and shortly after, World War II. His first tour began on February 26, 1943, with basic training at Camp Barkley in Abilene, Texas. He then trained with the 25th Hospital Unit in Louisville, Kentucky. From there he spent time in England, Belgium and Germany, before going to France where he helped set up a tent hospital. In Belgium he was assigned to the 67th Evacuation Hospital. He was later sent back to the United States where he was discharged on January 9, 1946, at Camp Fanning in Tyler, Texas.

Bill re-enlisted on May 14, 1949, in Abilene and served at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, Hamilton Field, California, then spent two years in Anchorage, Alaska before being sent to the Letterman Hospital in San Francisco, California. He was discharged on November 6, 1952. During this time he was united in marriage to Ruby Sutton on July 1, 1951, in Gustine, Texas. Bill and Ruby have been living Comanche for the past forty-three years, during which time he farmed, worked in construction and for many years was employed by Clemons Motor Company.

He is survived by his wife, Ruby Craig of Comanche; daughter and son-in-law, Sandy and Mike Stepken of Stephenville; son, Rodger Craig; seven grandchildren: Clint, Shyla, Jeremy, Macy, Blayne, Dylan, and Jamie; eight great-grandchildren: Kymberlee, Trenton, William, Tristan, Jace, Toby, T.J., and Tyler; brothers, Jim Craig of Houston and Doug Craig of Desdemona; sisters, Geraldine Zummer of Carbon, Maxine Lawless of De Leon, Helen Johnson of Denver, Colorado, Mary Garza of Houston, Doris Whitley of Granbury and Vera Love of Horseshoe Bay. He was preceded in death by his parents, an infant son, daughter, Brenda Reed, and brothers, J. T. Craig and Jack Craig.

Sources

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:H5RX-F6Z : accessed 20 January 2018), William S Craig in household of William S Craig, Desdemona, Eastland, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 35, sheet 2A, line 20, family 32, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2325; FHL microfilm 2,342,059.
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWV9-R7W : accessed 20 January 2018), William S Craig in household of William S Craig, Justice Precinct 8, Eastland, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 67-35, sheet 7A, line 30, family 122, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4024.
• "United States Public Records, 1970-2009," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJF4-C5KG : 16 May 2014), W S Jr Craig, Residence, Comanche, Texas, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
• Obituary
• Find A Grave: Memorial #34567291