Thomas Proctor Crawford

Tom invested his entire career serving the American people in the US Navy and the US Foreign Service. Upon graduating from San Diego High School in June, 1945, he enlisted in the US Navy. He was a crew member on the minesweeper USS Broadbill. He sailed straight out of boot camp bound for Astoria, Oregon as the last port before deployment in the Pacific theater. On September 2, 1945, the Japanese surrendered, ending the war, and the USS Broadbill's orders were updated to sail straight back to San Diego. Tom's duties shifted to decommissioning the ship. On May 8, 1946 Tom was honorably discharged from the Navy. The following month Tom enrolled in college, and he graduated from USC with a BA in International Relations in January, 1951. Immediately upon graduation, Tom joined the US Foreign Service, where he served for 37 years. Tom concurrently returned to the Navy as Lieutenant (j.g.) in the reserves in 1958. By 1961 his naval portrait reflects the rank of full Lieutenant. Tom maintained his Naval officer's commission until 1973.

Tom's life was fully lived, packed with exceptional adventures. One of his jobs in Thailand was working with Thai officials to welcome refugees from the Cambodian killing fields. On one such journey, his Jeep got stuck fording a river. He had no way to call for help. By pure chance, a logging elephant and rider came by and offered to pull the Jeep out. In Tom's after-action report, he wrote that all such off road cars should be equipped with "wenches." After that he was known by his colleagues in Korat as "The Wench Master of the East." Tom was a faithful servant of the US people and worked to support democracy and freedom abroad. He wrote to his son in 2021 "one my jobs was to see that another Hitler or his ilk would NEVER rise again … although our Democracy (is) not a perfect system of governing, it is a far better one than any of the alternatives”. His posts sometimes required travel to other places, like Singapore, Cambodia, and Malaysia. He included side trips to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

He held posts in Germany, Japan, The Belgian Congo, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, Niger, and Korea. Tom rose up through the ranks from a Clerk Messenger FSS (staff) 13 in 1950 to a FSO (Officer) - 1 in the 1980's; the highest rank in the Foreign Service, above which most of the positions are filled by political appointees. Tom earned many commendations and awards throughout his career, including a "Superior Honor Award" on June 3, 1970 for “superior accomplishments in organizing and conducting, under hazardous conditions, a unified information and psychological warfare program which has contributed towards advancing interests of the United States in assisting South Vietnam in the establishment of a viable government”. In the course of his career, he achieved conversational competency in all the languages of the nations he was posted to, as well as understanding how to operate respectfully within each post’s cultural protocols. On June 3, 1986, Tom retired from the foreign service.

Upon retirement, Tom turned his attention to understanding his genealogy and was able to trace his ancestry back to the year 1540, including 11 men who fought in the Revolutionary War in the US.

In May of 1995 he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and enjoyed many years skiing at Breckenridge and Vail in the Colorado Rockies. On December 23, 1999, he met Linda Gay Bowlander of Parker, Colorado, in the Denver International Airport. They were both going to spend Christmas with their children in Spokane. They began dating in the new year and they were married on September 9, 2000. Tom and Linda moved to Liberty Lake, Washington in 2015 to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

Tom was an avid student of history, language, and culture and continued to travel for years into his retirement. Tom and Linda toured Egypt, France, Italy, Hawaii, Turkey, Israel, Poland, Austria, Greece, Crete, and several regions of the USA. Tom remained physically active well into his 90s. He regularly reminded his family that the secret to longevity was to “just keep breathing”.

Tom is survived by his loving wife Linda Gay Crawford of Liberty Lake, Washington, his son Philip Courtney Crawford of Bellevue, Washington, his grandchildren Solveig Toft of Seattle, Washington, Ian Alexander Crawford of Bozeman, Montana, Gala Rose Crawford of Tucson, Arizona, Brittney Nicole Spencer of Spokane, Washington, Savanah Goodman of Spokane, Washington, Tony Joel Huffman of Phoenix, Arizona, his stepson Johnathon Richardson of La Mesa, California, and Johnathan’s children Elizabeth Black of Carlsbad, California, and Thomas Richardson of Boise, Idaho, and many other beloved family and friends.