Obituary of James P. Crawford

James (Jim) Patrick Crawford has returned to his heavenly home after his battle with Melanoma Cancer. Jim died peacefully at his home, surrounded by family, in Indianapolis on August 16th, 2019 at the age of 70.

Jim is survived by his wife, Nancie; children, Kevin (Georgette), Keith (Ann), Kristin (Chris), Kyle, and Kourtney (Ethon); siblings, Michael, Brian, Kathleen, and Patricia; grandchildren, Caroline, Andrew, Lincoln, Luke, Harrison and Addison. He is preceded in death by his daughter, Kimberly.

His devotion to his family and his firm belief in Jesus Christ supported him in his struggle and ultimately gave him peace.

Jim was born to the late Joseph and Mary Crawford in Brooklyn, New York on August 9th, 1949. Shortly after his birth Jim’s family relocated to Boston, Massachusetts where his 4 siblings were born.  According to his siblings, Jim was very proud of the fact that he was born in New York.   Jim loved sports, but other than the Celtics, he NEVER cheered for a Boston team. He was a huge Yankees fan and would always tell stories of the tremendous Yankee heroes and how great they were.  Jim was always a New York FOOTBALL Giant fan.  His brothers remember never being allowed to watch something else on TV on Sunday afternoon at 1 PM.  His siblings also remember Jim being huge Wilt Chamberlain fan, and he changed allegiance to whatever team Wilt Chamberlain played on.

Being the oldest sibling, Jim would always gather his younger brothers and their friends in the backyard or their paved driveway to play whiffle ball. Their yard was so small, they hardly had any room to play a game, so they had to make up rules such as “hit it beyond that spot, it’s a single… Catch it off the roof it’s an out”, utilizing “ghost men” on bases…, etc., etc.   

Jim was so thin and tall in high school; the anecdotes under his high school yearbook picture when he was a senior included the nickname, “jolly green giant” (referring to well-known advertising caricature in his day).  His year book also prominently mentioned a high school football game in which Jim ran over to the other side of the field and stole the opponent’s cherished flag.

He graduated from Northeastern University in 1972 with a degree in electrical engineering and accepted a position at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Springfield, Illinois.  Jim relocated to Oklahoma and became an instructor at the Oklahoma City Academy for Air Traffic Controllers.  While living in Oklahoma, he received his Masters of Business Administration from Oklahoma City University.  Shortly later, Jim accepted a promotion within the FAA to become the Operations Manager of the Great Lakes Region in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Jim served in this leadership role for the next 35 years.

Jim was blessed with a large and loving family. He married his best friend, Nancie Ann Pettijean, on February 8th, 1975 at St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Naperville, IL.   Jim helped raise his six children with patience, discipline and humility. He taught them to read, write and would sit with each of them to review their home work from school every night.  His focus and dedication to their happiness and success will always be remembered.  He often took them on long trips to their sporting events throughout the Midwest.  As far as his children can remember, he never missed a single event or competition for any of them.   Jim coached all his children’s soccer and other sports teams year after year.  They remember him standing tall on the sidelines, iconic stop watch hanging around his neck, sternly keeping his team in line.  In his closet, mixed amongst his stamp and coin collections, plaques from 12-0 soccer seasons can be found from the 1980s.  His children, friends and extended family recall Jim always being excited about amazing deals found at a recently visited garage sale which would invariably be found in the trunk of his car.   He prioritized his family’s happiness and comfort at his own expense.  Memories of a large van or station wagon for his wife and kids while he squeezed his 6 foot 6 inch frame in the smallest Kia or Hyundai ultra-compact car possible still bring smiles to their faces. 

Jim’s children recall fond memories of going to work with “Dad” for his overnight shifts.  They all thought it was the coolest and most special thing being able to stay up all night and hang out with “Dad” at work.  They recall one night discovering you shouldn’t have a sword fight with florescent light bulbs.  They don’t think “Dad” ever found out about that as they were able to clean up the mess in record time.

As his children grew up and went to college, Jim maintained a close and meaningful relationship with each of them.  Every year Jim would go to a Bible Study for a week at Xavier University.  His children looked forward to that week because they had their father to themselves for the whole week.  Jim would go to his bible study group and then would grab dinner and hang out afterwards with his children attending the University.

Jim’s sons looked forward annually to March Madness.  They would typically come together in Indianapolis for a couple days to watch all the games.  They were never sure how much interest “Dad” actually had in the games (besides Xavier), but he always talked about looking forward to March Madness with his kids year in and year out.

His younger children remember going to the Indianapolis Indians games all Summer where they would sit their feet right on the dugout, get autographs, and go out back behind the stadium after the game.  On the way home they always stopped at Longs Bakery to pick whatever they wanted.

Board games, cards, and virtually any competition were great loves for Jim.  He enjoyed participating in NFL or NCAA pools with his children.   His children (and grandchildren) recall near marathon nights of playing Monopoly, Risk, Cards, or about any other game possible.

As one of many final blessings, Jim was able to walk his youngest daughter, Kourtney, down the aisle to celebrate her wedding with his entire family in May a few months before his passing.

As he lived his life, Jim developed a growing love and dedication to the Lord which was exemplified in his growing devotion to his church and continued exploration of the beauty of the gospels.  Jim became very devoted to Catholic principles and Christian studies. He was always sharing reading materials and insights with his Bible Study groups as they prayed for intentions brought up in group meetings.

Jim is dearly missed by his loved ones, who celebrate the fact that he is at peace with his creator, our Lord Jesus Christ.

A viewing is scheduled for Jim on Wednesday, August 21st at Stevens Mortuary from 4pm to 8pm.  The Funeral Service will be at St. Christopher Church at 11am on Thursday, August 22nd.  Jim will be entombed at 12:30pm at West Ridge Cemetery with a reception to follow at St. Susanna Catholic Church. Father Michael Welch will officiate the ceremony. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Jim's life.