George Jacoby Crawford
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Funeral service for George Jacoby Crawford, 79, Lawrence will be held at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lawrence. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery. He passed away Friday, June 3, 2016 at his home.
George was born May 10, 1937 in Athens, Ohio the son of Theodore Mansfield and Marvella Jacoby Crawford. Raised in the Hocking Hills of southeastern Ohio, he excelled at singing and majored in voice at Ohio University. He taught choir and elementary school in St. Marys, West Virginia and Colgate Ohio, respectively. His talent for leadership noted by his superiors, George was offered positions as principal of Fort Harmer Elementary School and Marietta High School in Marietta, Ohio. He was vice principal of Athens High School and received his masters of Education at Ohio University. Offered a doctoral fellowship to Ohio State University, he received his PhD and was offered a position at KU in 1972, and headed for places West where he was a professor of Educational Administration at the University of Kansas from 1972 until he retired on May 16, 2011. George took a one year unpaid sabbatical from KU to serve as principal of Centennial Elementary, an experience he found rejuvenating. An advisor in the administration of northeast Kansas schools, he was fond of his affiliation with J.C. Harmon high school in Kansas City. He was National President of the International Society for Educational Planning from 1990-1991. A member of Trinity Lutheran Church, George served on the Lawrence School Board, the Citizens Review Board for Douglas County juvenile court cases, and was a former member of the Lawrence Civic Choir, in which capacity he and his wife Beth travelled to and performed in Poland.
He married Maribeth Kirchhoff on August 4, 1979 in Lawrence, KS. She survives of the home.
Other survivors include two daughters, Susan Crawford of Kansas City, KS; Carolyn Crawford Chase and husband, Kelly of Virginia Beach, VA; one son, George A. Crawford and wife, Traci of Poolesville, MD; one sister, Jessie Essex of Athens, Ohio; six grandchildren, Kaitlin Crawford, Heather Crawford, Kasey Clemens; Travis Chase, Alec Chase and Bailey Chase. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Angela Nell Adkins and his sister, Jean McAfee.
The family will greet friends from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at Warren-McElwain Mortuary.
Online condolences may be sent to www.warrenmcelwain.com.
Sorry to hear of George’s passing. We often crossed paths in the hallways here at JRP. I loved his cheerful attitude and I miss joking with him about his sports car. I recall a moment when I mentioned the King Singers. Without a moment hesitation, he started singing “Kokomo.” I can still hear it echoing in the building. Great guy!
SIncere condolences to George’s family. He and I were School of Education colleagues for many years; I was on the faculty from 1968 to 2000 in the Educational Psychology program. I can clearly recall George’s special voice, speaking or singing, joking or seriously professional. There must be hundreds of former students who also recall that same voice with admiration and appreciation. Rest in peace.
Peter
Gettysburg, PA
Dr. Crawford was a special person in my life. He guided me through my doctorate program and ultimately became a colleague when I joined the faculty in 2005. He was a blessing to many students and colleagues and will be missed greatly.
George was one of the first colleagues, outside of Special Education, that I met when joining the faculty in 1973. It soon became apparent to me that I would enjoy and respect him. Later when serving as dean George was one of the those individuals I would to rely on when I needed a reality check. I respected him and enjoyed him. When he took leave to serve as a principal my thought was that more of us should do that in our respective fields. George was an example of an educator that we could all aspire to be.
My deepest, Beth. I will miss my dear friend and mentor in all things political.
George Crawford was my friend, colleague, and mentor. I am very sad to hear of his passing. He was a gallant person in every way. He cared deeply about ALL his students from those he served in his years as principal to those he guided through their graduate programs to those he helped in his years as Lawrence School Board Member and as a support system for faculty and staff in KC. He was a dedicated member of the Professional Developmenet School which he helped found at KU. I had the privilege of teaching with him in that program and always enjoyed his many insights into education not to mention his wit, quips, witticisms, and many sayings that had deep meaning. I learned a lot from George on a professional level but also a personal level. He was committed to many causes some of which required much strength against adversity. He was a great model for me and I would have to say his many students over his years at KU. I will always remember George singing his heart out at Og Lindsley’s (another ELPS Faculty Member) memorial service in 150 JRP. He had a great voice and was a great spirit. My deep condolences to his family. He will be remembered as a great educator, kind man and a professional to be admired. With Deep Sympathy, Bob Harrington
I am sad to learn of our loss of George. He was a close colleague and friend. He was the instructor for three courses that I took in the education admin program starting in 1973 when he was new to KU. When he was Department chair he made a point of stopping by office nearly every day to ask what he could do to support me in my work. He was kind, considerate, and thoughtful. He was passionate about education and wanted the best for all of his students. I will miss his humor and conversation.
My best to Beth and the family. George was a pleasure to listen to and learn from. In his wonderful career, he did it all: teacher, principal, professor, and school board member. He was a source of inspiration to his students and his faculty colleagues.
I was so sorry to learn of George’s passing. From the time I joined the School of Education faculty in 1978, George served graciously and repeatedly as the voice of reason when impasses made solutions seem unreachable. I especially appreciated his commitment to avoid taking our work lives too seriously.For example, when he commented (positively) on a cartoon on my door,”let’s put the fun back in dysfunctional,” I made a copy for him, which George posted on his office door. He was a scholar and a gentleman in every sense of the two concepts. May his memory be for blessing.
I extend my sincere sympathy to George’s family. I worked with George for many years, mostly on committees and service related activities and he was always a pleasure to work with and just be around. Over the years, I had many personal conversations with George regarding education and all were learning experiences for me. I will always remember George as a wonderful person and colleague,
Beth, I am heartbroken for you and your kids. George was such a life force. It was a blessing working with him at Trinity, he was a treasure.
I am so sorry for your loss. George, whose office was next to mine for several years, was a great colleague. We often discussed the latest education news or some article we’d both read. Frequently, our conversation would turn to music and he would weigh in on the merits of this or that performance (sometimes humming or singing a bit). We had good conversations and plenty of laughs.
Heartfelt Condolences.
What a great man! George was my favorite Lutheran! His voice and smile made everyone happy! It was a bonus if you got to sit nearby during a service to hear him sing! Church will not be the same without him. He always said hello to me and greeted Emily, making us feel special at church. I admired all his work at KU and in the community. He will be dearly missed. Our sympathy to Beth and family.
Dearest Beth,
I know this note of condolence is way past due. Even though it has been many many years since we have spoken, George and yourself have always been in my heart and always will be. I was surfing the web and came across George’s obituary. I remember the total happiness you both had on your wedding day. I am so sorry for your loss.
Most sincerely