Joseph C. Crafford

Joseph Crafford, 97, died peacefully on January 11, 2021 in Williamsburg, Virginia from complications of an injury. He was a lifelong resident of the Peninsula. Joe was born August 21, 1923, to Dr. Mercer W. and Mary Josephine Crafford of the Lee Hall section of Newport News. Joe attended Morrison High School in Warwick County where he played football and baseball. Upon graduation, he enrolled in Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company’s Apprentice School, played football, and graduated in 1944 as a toolmaker. He enlisted in the Army to serve in WWII and was deployed to the Philippine Islands with the Army Corps of Engineers from 1944 until 1946. Joe spent his career as a toolmaker for Newport News Shipyard, the Army at Ft. Eustis and Dow Chemical/BASF. He lived in Lee Hall until his retirement in 1980 when he relocated to Williamsburg. Joe was an avid outdoorsman with a lifelong passion for golf, hunting and gardening. In his later years, he was an accomplished woodworker specializing in period furniture and precision scale models of WWII military vehicles. Joe was a member of Lebanon Christian Church and Warwick Masonic Lodge #336. He survived his wife of 64 years, Helen, who passed away in 2012 and his four siblings, M. Waller, William Ashton, Anne Page, and Myrna. He is survived by his two sons, J. Carter Crafford, Jr. (Lynn) of Fairfax, Virginia and Glenn W. Crafford (Susie) of Williamsburg, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. A Celebration of Life service will be scheduled at a future date. Condolences may be shared at www.nelsenwilliamsburg.com.