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Raymond E. 'Gene' Crawshaw, 84, passed away peacefully at 11:42 on Thursday, February 4, 2016.
Gene was born in Murphysboro on June 26, 1931, the second son of the late Raymond A. and Lettie May (McCarter) Crawshaw. He was united in marriage to Gladys M. Struck on June 28, 1958, at St. John's United Church of Christ in DuQuoin, Illinois. Gladys survives of Murphysboro.
He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Murphysboro, where he was an ordained Deacon and Ruling Elder. He graduated from Murphysboro Township High School as a member of the class of 1949 where he played football under the skillful eye of the legendary Murphysboro coach E.L. 'Doc' Bencini. His 1947 football team was inducted into the Murphysboro High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010. That team was undefeated and unscored upon. Gene dearly loved football and his Coach Doc Bencini.
After high school graduation, he entered college at the St. Louis College of Mortuary Science and upon graduating, attended Southern Illinois University for a short period of time before joining the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.
He entered the Navy on February 7, 1951, in St. Louis, completed basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station and then was stationed at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for a brief period before being deployed with the Pacific fleet at San Diego, California, aboard the U.S.S. Response, a 750 bed hospital ship. Gene served 3 years, 9 months and 6 days as Navy Corpsman 3rd Class during the Korean War. He was, then, discharged on November 12, 1954.
After his service in the Navy, he returned home to his family business and joined his father in operating Crawshaw Funeral Home. Gene retired on June 30, 1994, after 40 years with his family business. He was currently a licensed funeral director and had been so for over 50 years.
He was a former member and past president of the Murphysboro Kiwanis Club. He was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #7190 and the American Legion Paul Stout Post #127, both in Murphysboro. He was a life member, also, of the Disabled American Veterans. Gene was a member of the Murphysboro A.F. & A.M. Masonic Lodge #498, Murphysboro Chapter #164 of Royal Arch Masons, and the Murphysboro B.P.O.E. Elks Lodge #572.
Gene formerly served with the Jackson County chapter of the American Red Cross and had been a member of the board of Pensions for the Murphysboro Police and Firefighters. He was a member and past President of the Egyptian Funeral Association; a member of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday, February 11, 2016, at the First Presbyterian Church in Murphysboro. Rev. Sam Foskey of First Presbyterian Church will officiate. Burial will be in Pleasant Grove Memorial Park with military rites by the American Legion Paul Stout Post #127 of Murphysboro. Mr. Crawshaw will be moved to the First Presbyterian Church at 9 a.m. on Thursday. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10, 2016, at Crawshaw Funeral Home in Murphysboro.
Memorials are encouraged and may be made to the First Presbyterian Church or to the Murphysboro Education Foundation/Football.
Survivors include his wife Gladys Crawshaw; one daughter and son-in-law, Helen and Mike Cripps; one son and daughter-in-law, Howard and Donna Crawshaw; one granddaughter, Sarah Cripps; two grandsons, Alex Crawshaw and Troy Cripps, all of Murphysboro; two sisters and one brother-in-law, Helen Haneline of Mineola, TX., and Margie and Mike Graves of Granite City, IL; one brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Ceil Crawshaw of Murphysboro.
Source: Crawshaw Funeral Home, Murphysboro, Ill., Feb. 7, 2016
Type: Public Announcement
Date: 2016-02-07
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