Robert "Bobby" Crawford

Robert Atkins "Bobby" Crawford, a local attorney and lifelong resident of Hinds County, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Thursday, January 17, 2013 after a valiant and courageous, eleven-month battle with cancer. Born in 1939 in Jackson's Baptist Hospital, he was 73 years of age.

A 1957 graduate of Forest Hill High School, Bobby lettered three years as tackle on the championship football team, was named to the All-Little Dixie Conference Team, and played the bass drum in the high school band. During his younger years, he served as a Junior Deacon at Daniel Memorial Baptist Church.

While in the Mississippi National Guard for over six years, Bobby served a two-year stint of active duty with the 114th Military Police Company, stationed in Ft. Gordon, Georgia, from 1961 through 1962. He achieved the rank of corporal and was an assistant squadron commander.

During the mid-1960's, Bobby was part of a five-man team that won the National Skeet Shooting Championship, the beginning of a keen interest in marksmanship, hunting, and gun collecting. These interests spanned the majority of his lifetime.

A graduate of Mississippi State University and Jackson Law School, Mr. Crawford took coursework at the University of Mississippi Law School, and began practicing law in 1968. He joined the Agnew Law Office in Jackson as associate attorney in 1969, serving until the present. Bobby was also named an Honorary Colonel for the Inauguration of Mississippi’s Governor John Bell Williams in 1968.

Mr. Crawford was a Reserve Deputy Sheriff for both the Hinds and Copiah Counties' Sheriff Departments for over ten years, having joined the Hinds County Department in July of 1999 and the Copiah County Department in 2006. During his tenure as a Reserve Deputy, he achieved the rank of Lieutenant, was Legal Counsel for the Reserve Unit, served as personnel trainer, and rode in the motorcycle and mounted patrols in local parades and similar events across the state.

An entrepreneur and businessman, as well as an attorney, Mr. Crawford was owner and operator of Crawford Nursing Home, Inc. from 1971 through the mid-1990's, while dually managing the Diamond C Farming and Ranching Enterprise, originally started by his father in the 1960's and currently managed by his sons. Those who knew Bobby well knew he was a "cowboy at heart."

At the time of his death, Robert A. Crawford was on the Professional Steering Committee of the National Rifle Association and a member of the Mississippi Bar Association. He practiced law in Jackson for forty-four years, while maintaining a strong relationship and friendship with numerous attorneys, judges, law enforcement officials, and childhood friends.

A devoted husband, father, and grandfather, Bobby is survived by his wife, Dr. Rosalind S. Crawford; sons, Robert Peyton Crawford, wife Renae Pate; Steve Crawford; Tanny Lee Crawford, wife Kelly Cole; grandchildren, Cara Lee, Victoria Lane, Laurie Claire, Cole Harrison, and Camille Anna (all of Mississippi); sisters, Barbara Nicholson Freeman, husband Chuck Freeman; and Karen Lee Cannon, husband Bart Cannon; nieces, Penni Nicholson Fryman, Keri Cannon Hunt, Beth Cannon Todd, and Karen Melissa Cannon; and nephews, John C. "Cal" Nicholson, IV, and Jonathan Bartley Cannon (all of Texas).

Robert A. “Bobby” Crawford was preceded in death by his beloved parents, Annabel Horne Crawford and Robert Lee Crawford; wife, Laurie Crawford; and brother-in-law, John C. Nicholson, III.

Contributions may be made to the charity or organization of choice.