John Crawford Sr.

John P. Crawford Sr. passed away peacefully on February 23, 2019 in Boston, MA surrounded by his loving family at the age of 86. Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, he grew up in nearby Bloomfield where he attended Sacred Heart Grammar School, served as an altar boy, made many friends and discovered his life-long passion for fishing.

In his teen years, he enjoyed fixing cars and taking long trips on his motorcycle. Shortly after graduating from St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark where he played basketball, John put his natural mechanical gifts to work, becoming an apprentice machinist with Westinghouse Electric Corporation in their lamp division.

It was in those early years that he met the love of his life, Nancy (Myers) whom he would marry, raise a family with and spend the next 67 years together.

John’s toolmaking talents and people skills quickly caught the eye of Westinghouse leaders, propelling him into its management ranks where he took on assignments across manufacturing sites in Kansas, West Virginia and Puerto Rico, eventually rising to the position of Plant Manager for its Edison, NJ site. His career spanned 42 years. In 1983, Westinghouse sold its lamp manufacturing operation to North American Phillips Lighting Corporation, where he continued working in facilities management until retiring in 1994.

Throughout his career, John always put family first. He was a devoted dad who reveled in organizing many memorable camping trips, coaching little league, attending twirling competitions, watching his daughters cheerlead, and going to his son’s football games. He loved spending spare time in the outdoors and was an avid all-around sportsman. For many years he hunted a wide variety of wild game and took great pride in expertly training his English Setter and Brittany Spaniel hunting dogs. Along the way, he somehow found the time to build new houses in Millstone, NJ and in Cape Cod, MA – where he would ultimately reside.

His retirement years were kind to him. He took up woodworking - building decks, tooling furniture, and crafting birdhouses for family and friends while becoming an accomplished wildlife wood carver. John also began running competitively at age 71, participating in more than a dozen 5K and Half Marathon road races and finishing first in his age bracket in many. For 20 years, John and his wife wintered in Naples, Florida where they enjoyed boating and made many new friends. He celebrated the good life with family birthdays, ice cream sundaes and long walks on the beach at sunset.

But it was fishing that was his true passion. John was a master fisherman who cherished all aspects of the pursuit and spent countless hours on the water and educating himself about the sport. He was constantly thinking about fishing, how to outsmart his finned foes, preparing gear and planning for his next successful excursion. Chasing striped bass, tarpon, snook and rainbow trout always lit his fire, added bounce to his step and put a twinkle in his eye.

John believed deeply in the preservation of natural fisheries and was an active practitioner of catch and release. While in Florida he participated in fishery migration studies over many years and received certificates for providing DNA samples for research from more than 40 tarpon he caught and returned to the wild. During those years, he mastered saltwater fly fishing and tying his own flies and enjoyed sharing his experiences with a close circle of fishing friends.

He is immensely missed by his loving family, left this world a better place by his presence and will always be remembered for the gifts he selflessly shared with so many.

He is survived by his wife Nancy A. Crawford (Myers) of Eastham, MA; daughters Cynthia Bachman (Crawford) of Eastham, MA and Johanne Kieffer (Crawford) of Orleans, MA; and a son John P. Crawford Jr. of Essex Fells, NJ and his wife Mary Jane. In addition, he leaves grandchildren: Jennifer Gallagher (Bachman) and her husband Ryan of Hingham; Jamie Beabout (Bachman) and her husband Jordan of Lake Park, FL; and great grandchildren Chloe and Kaiden Beabout; and grandchildren Carianne Kieffer and Ian Kieffer; John was predeceased by his mother Mary Hanson (Leddy), father John “Jack” Crawford, step-father Eric Hanson, and step brother Paul Hanson. He is survived by his sister Rose Ellen Lane (Crawford) and her children: Fred Lane and his wife Becky; Patricia Brannin and her husband Richard; Kathy Lane and loved extended family.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John’s name to: Boston Children's Hospital Trust at 401 Park Drive, Suite 602, Boston, MA 02215; The Fund for Brigham and Women's Hospital c/o Development Office, 116 Huntington Ave., 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02116; and or Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife at: Comm. of Mass – Wildlands Fund, MassWildlife, 251 Causeway St., Suite 400, Boston, MA 02114. For online condolences, please visit www.nickersonfunerals.com.