Obituary of William Joseph Crawford

William Joseph Crawford Mr. Crawford, 77, of Concord, died August 27, 2010 after a long five year battle with cancer at his residence. He was born on February 8, 1933 in Boone, NC to the late, C.W. (Joe) Crawford and Bess Scoggins Crawford. He attended Watauga County Schools and graduated from Appalachian State Teachers College in 1955 with a B.S. Degree in math and physical education. After graduating from Appalachian, he taught and coached girl?s basketball for one year at Prospect High School in Monroe before being drafted into the Army where he served in the Signal Corps at Fort Gordon, GA from 1956-1958. In 1958, he met Mary Robinson in Boone and they were married in 1959. They lived in Fort Pierce, Florida for five years where Mr. Crawford taught math and coached at Dan McCarty High School. In 1963, Mr. Crawford and his family returned to Charlotte when he accepted a job at Harding High School. He taught math and coached various sports. In 1967 he became the head baseball coach, a position he held until 1984. During that time his teams never had a losing season. He also had several players who went on to play college ball and the pro?s. His teams played in the state playoffs several times and in 1975 was the state runner-up. Mr. Crawford particularly enjoyed the huge rivalry with West Mecklenburg during the years his sons played under Coach Carl Bolick and Coach Clyde Peek. Although they fought hard to win, they remained the closest of friends off the field and played golf together. He loved playing golf and made some very special friends through his years of playing. Especially his Monday golfing buddies he met after his retirement. Mr. Crawford also enjoyed working at Lowes Motor Speedway at race time twice a year. He and his wife enjoyed going on trips with Christian Tours. Together they also volunteered with Friendship Trays. They also sang in the Chancel Choir and enjoyed many other activities at their church. In January of 2005 Bill and his wife Mary became residents of the ?Gardens of Taylor Glen? in Concord and quickly became involved with their ?new? family. In addition to his wife of fifty one years Mary, he is survived by his sons William (Bill Jr.) and his wife, Suzy of Concord and Bryan of Stanley. Mr. Crawford was also the proud Paw-paw to his granddaughters, Ryn and Neely Crawford of Concord. His funeral service will be at 12:30 PM, Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at First United Methodist Church, 140 North Main Street, Mt. Holly, NC 28120. Interment will follow in Forest Lawn West Cemetery, Charlotte, NC. The family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 PM Monday evening August 30, 2010 at Hankins & Whittington Funeral Service, 1111 East Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28203. The family would like to thank the wonderful, caring state of Dr. John Powderly-Carolina BioOncology Institute of Huntersville; Amy Sloop, his special nurse and the staff of Hospice and Palliative Care, Charlotte Region and Debbie Simmons, his caregiver of Home Instead of Concord. Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church, Renovation Fund, 140 North Main Street, Mt. Holly, NC 28120-1768 or to Hospice and Palliative Care Charlotte Region 1420 East 7th Street Charlotte, NC 28204.