William Ooley Craig

Born in Springfield, Missouri, Dec. 31, 1931

Son of William Jasper Craig (1889-1969) and Coral Mae Ooley Craig (1894-1951)

Attended Springfield public schools, graduated from Springfield (later Central) High School, 1949.

Attended Southwest Missouri State College, Springfield, 1949-51; was editor of college paper; member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity.

Honor graduate, University of Missouri School of Journalism, 1953, Bachelor of Journalism degree. Employed on the faculty there as a graduate assistant instructor in news writing while studying as a graduate student, 1955-56.

U.S. Army, 1953-1955, served as Special Agent, Counter-Intelligence Corps, Pusan, Korea, 1954-1955.

General assignment reporter and photographer, Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Mo., 1956-1958. Covered every type of news event but sports, including a funeral, a wedding, a train wreck, a bank robbery, and countless local government meetings.

Writer and senior editor, Traffic World magazine, Washington, D.C., 1958-1969. Chief of bureau at Interstate Commerce Commission; covered U.S. Supreme Court, 1967-1969.

Writer-editor and information officer, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1969-1976. Founded Smithsonian Institution Research Reports quarterly; edited employee newspaper; handled public information for various Smithsonian bureaus, including the Freer Gallery of Art. Produced the first foreign language visitors’ material.

Witnessed examination and re-entombment of James Smithson’s remains. Author of Around the World with the Smithsonian, Llumina Press, Tamarac, FL, 2004.

Publications director, National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, 1967-1982. Produced 30 publications annually, including the Humanities newsletter.

Director of Public Affairs, Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, 1982-1990. Supervised entire public information program, including annual National Inventors Day program, with exhibits and inductions into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Retired from the federal government in 1990.

Part-time researcher and general assistant to columnist Marianne Means, Hearst Newspaper Bureau, Washington, 1990-2008. Covered several major cultural events in Washington and Baltimore.

Part-time researcher for National Geographic World, Washington, 1997.

Freelance work included writing for the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, and the National Science Foundation.

Contributed to and edited newsletters for the Archaeological Institute of America, the National Railway Historical Society, Washington chapter, the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, the Cold War Museum, the Smithsonian Forum on Material Culture, and the World Affairs Council of Washington.

Interests: History, archaeology, railroads, foreign languages (studied Latin, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, and Mandarin Chinese).

Traveled to over 60 countries in his retirement, including multiple trips to Egypt, India, and China.

Married to Mary Ellen Towle (1930-2007), Oct. 3, 1959, in Kansas City.

Children: William (Jenna) Craig, Orlando, FL; Douglas (Barbara) Craig, Melbourne, FL; Thomas (Penny) Craig, Orlando, FL. Grandchildren: Rachel (Christian) MacConnell, Cocoa, FL; Katherine Craig, Orlando, FL; and James Craig, Orlando, FL.

In Lieu of Flowers Memorial Donations to Gary Sinise Foundation https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/donate