Gary David Crawford's Obituary
Obituary of Gary D. Crawford
Gary David Crawford of Fairbank Village, Tilghman’s Island, passed away at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore on Wednesday, March 5, 2020 after a brief illness. He had just turned 78.
Gary was born March 3, 1942 in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Kenneth Crawford and Ruth Mayer Crawford. When he was 8, the family moved to Beavercreek, Ohio, where he attended Beavercreek Schools. He was class president three of his four years in high school and played tenor sax in the band. He graduated in 1959 and attended The Ohio State University. When he graduated, he taught high school English for two years, then returned to graduate school. He left school to join the Peace Corps and went to the island of Yap in Western Micronesia, where he taught elementary English for three years. After his Peace Corps service, he became a language coordinator for Peace Corps training and lived and taught in many island countries in the Western Pacific. In 1977 he returned to the United States and lived in San Diego.
In 1979 he started working at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, DC, developing innovative techniques for teaching language to diplomatic personnel. He married Susan Cracknell Dailey in 1979 and they lived in Arlington VA. He retired as Associate Dean of the Language School, Foreign Service Institute in 1997 and he and Susan moved to Fairbank. They opened Crawfords Nautical Books, a bookstore specializing in all things involving the water.
Gary became very interested in waterman culture and local history and spent years doing research, interviewing watermen, and writing books and articles on local history. He was a regular contributor to the Tidewater Times and for many years published the Island Flyer, a local newsletter. He was an active volunteer at the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center (PWEC).
Gary is survived by his wife Susan and her children Chris Dailey (Susan and children Wade and Gwendolyn) and Jennifer Dailey Cooke (Brian), and by his brother Brian Crawford (Linda and son Nathan).
A celebration of his life will be held at the Tilghman Island Fire House on, Saturday, May 2, 2020 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. Any gifts in his memory should be made to the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center, 6129 Tilghman Island Rd, Tilghman, MD 21671.
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