Craig Allen Lehman, M.D., of Kingwood, Texas, peacefully passed from this life and into the next on April 6, 2021, from complications associated with his hard-fought, 10-month battle with cancer. He was 78 years old.
Craig is preceded in death by his parents, A. Floyd and Lela Lehman; older brother Carl Lehman; grandmother Sylvia Shane; and father-in-law, William H. Coltzer, Sr. (There’s no telling what shenanigans he and Billy are getting into now.)
He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 46 years, Sandra (“Sandy”) Lehman; son Shane Lehman; daughters Natalie Lehman-Guerrero and Alexis Faust; sons-in-law William Guerrero and Peter Faust; beloved grandchildren Vivian Guerrero, Charlotte Guerrero, Alexandra Faust, and Allen Faust (named after him); mother-in-law Julie Coltzer; sisters-in-law Virginia Lehman, Lori Froelich, and Shelley Coltzer; brothers-in-law Billy Coltzer and Kelly Froelich; and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
Craig’s story began in Great Bend, Kansas, on July 8, 1942. The son of teachers, he moved around frequently with his family and grew up in several small towns throughout western Kansas, including Great Bend, Kismet, Gorham, and Lenora. Summers were spent on their wheat farm a few miles from Lenora, where he helped to work in the fields at harvest time. From his earliest days, Craig was always a very hard worker.
He was extremely intelligent—to many who spent time with him, he was one of the smartest people they knew. Craig was the valedictorian of the Class of 1960 at Gorham Rural High School. In 1964, he graduated from Fort Hays Kansas State College (now University) with a degree in chemistry. He was then accepted into the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City, where he earned his M.D. in 1968. Afterward, Craig joined the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and completed his medical internship at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. (Though, he claimed the real reason he moved to Texas was because he never found the occasion to shovel rain.)
Craig was also a tough fighter—cancer was never the first challenge he encountered bravely and honorably. During the Vietnam War, Craig served his country as a USAF flight surgeon in Southeast Asia. Specifically, he served with the 56th Special Operations Wing and was attached to the Ravens (Project 404, which was the code name for a covert mission in Laos). Over the course of his two tours of duty, he recovered many U.S. service members from the battlefield and saved many lives. Ultimately, he attained the rank of Lt. Colonel.
Craig won many awards for his military service, including:
• Bronze Star Medal (Meritorious Service)
• Air Medal; 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
• Presidential Unit Citation
• Outstanding Unit Award + V Device
• National Defense Service Medal
• Vietnam Service Medal; Oak Leaf Cluster
• Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross + Device
• Air Force Longevity Award; Oak Leaf Cluster
• Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
• Vietnam Campaign Medal
Following Craig’s military service, he chose to enter the field of diagnostic radiology. From 1973 to 1975, he completed his residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
During his time in residency, Craig met Sandy, a nursing student at UTMB, at a beer bust—or, as we now call it, a keg party—at the Methodist Student Union Center in August 1974. It only took him about two months to figure out if she was old enough to legally date. (To his relief, she was 21 years old.) When he finally called her using the phone number he had written down inside his labcoat, their first date was a Frank Sinatra concert at Hofheinz Pavilion on the University of Houston campus. After that, they were inseparable—despite Sandy doing things like showing up at his apartment and singing John Denver’s “Annie’s Song” to him under his balcony. They married over her spring break at the First Presbyterian Church of Galveston on March 22, 1975. As Craig said to her, “When you know you’ve met the right person, you just know and you don’t need to play games.”
Over the next four-and-a-half decades, Craig and Sandy went on to have three children and four grandchildren. They were a perfect match—Craig was typically quiet and reserved, and always even-keeled. (“Don’t panic until I say panic” was one of his common sayings. Of course, he never panicked.) Meanwhile, Sandy was more talkative and outgoing, and more than once relied on Craig to remind her that everything would be fine. They were each other’s rock, and Sandy remained by his side faithfully to the end.
Craig concluded his active duty in the USAF working as a staff radiologist at Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Afterward, Craig entered private practice, first in Denton, Texas, and then in Kingwood, Texas, where he remained permanently. For more than 25 years, he was a partner of Humble Radiology Associates at Northeast Medical Center Hospital (now known as Memorial Hermann Northeast) in Humble, Texas. Later, he performed locum tenens diagnostic radiology for a number of years in hospitals across the state, from Amarillo to Laredo. In total, he practiced as a physician for 51 years and positively impacted many, many patients.
However, medicine barely scratches the surface of Craig’s interests and skills. Really, he could do anything he set out to do.
He was an expert woodworker, whether that involved building a 42-foot sailboat in his yard to constructing his family’s kitchen table and a rocking cradle now used by seven babies in the family to date.
He was an extraordinary chef and baker. His apple, pumpkin, and sweet potato pies were staples at family holiday gatherings. He was famous for his cookies of all designs and highly meticulous detail. There were few places where Craig was happier than busily going back and forth between his kitchen island and oven, preparing treats for the family to enjoy. In fact, he spent his last night at home staying up late to finish making dozens of Easter cookies in the shape of crosses, bunnies, flowers, eggs, and chicks.
He loved deep-sea fishing.
He was a talented artist who came up with many creative ideas, such as painting rocks to look like ladybugs for his grandchildren.
He was a voracious reader and, as a result, was also a wealth of information about many topics.
He avidly followed politics and loved to discuss—and debate—current events and issues. Craig could frequently be seen typing letters in response to opinion pieces in the news or TV personalities when he disagreed with something they said or felt they had missed a crucial point in their argument.
He traveled the world, whether it was taking his family on road trips across the U.S. in their blue Chevrolet van (once going 987 miles in one day) or embarking on month-long tours across Europe, including several river and ocean cruises. Other destinations Craig enjoyed visiting included Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Russia, all of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific. In total, he stepped foot on six continents.
A natural comedian, Craig was especially known for his dry sense of humor, very matter-of-fact way of speaking, quick wit, and hilarious pranks. His legacy will certainly include all his funny, oft-repeated “Craig-isms” and jokes, which could fill a book. He was also quite a storyteller, and loved to discuss at length certain topics in his life: Growing up on a farm, adventures in medical school, completing tropical jungle survival training in Panama, and his time in Southeast Asia.
But most of all, Craig always lived for his family. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for them or to support them. And, in later years, there was no place he’d rather be than home amid all the chaos of young grandchildren, watching them swim and play, or snuggling up with them to watch TV—of course, while wearing his “Paw-Paw on Duty” t-shirt.
Everyone who met Craig realized they were in the presence of a special, anything-but-ordinary individual—but also a very humble person who never sought the limelight.
Through the end, Craig faced his cancer diagnosis and treatment with courage, strength, and stoicism, never once complaining or wanting anyone to worry about him. He resolved to “fight like hell,” and he did. His family is so proud of him, and his children and grandchildren are honored to call him Dad and Paw-Paw. He was well loved and will be deeply missed.
A celebration of his life will be held on his birthday this summer.
Donations can be made in Craig’s name to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Thoracic-Head & Neck Medical Oncology. His family extends their deep gratitude to all those who were involved in his care, particularly Dr. Marcelo Vailati Negrao and his team.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.9.5