John C. Crawford Iii

JOHN C. CRAWFORD III, age 71, died on July 4, 2008, of pancreatic cancer at Hospice Atlanta in Atlanta, Ga.. He was born in Maryville, Tenn., on March 23, 1937, the son of John C. Crawford, Jr., and America Crawford. He graduated from Maryville High School in 1955 and from Davidson College in 1959. After college he joined the U. S. Navy and served three years as a communications officer aboard the USS Springfield, the cruiser flagship of the Mediterranean Sixth Fleet. After active duty he continued his military career in the Naval Reserve, retiring after 21 years service in the rank of Commander. He graduated from Vanderbilt Law School in 1966 and joined his family law firm, Crawford & Crawford, in Maryville, where he practiced law with his father, John Jr., and his uncle, Roy. In 1973 he left the firm to become an assistant district attorney for Blount, Loudon, and Roane counties. In 1978 he was elected Circuit Court Judge, Division II, for Blount County, handling primarily criminal cases; he was reelected in 1982. While living in Maryville he was a member of the Maryville-Alcoa Sertoma Club and served on the boards of directors of Child and Family Services, the Maryville Community Theatre, and the Blount County Council for the Arts. He was a lifetime member and elder of New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville and served on the Synod’s Permanent Judicial Commission. He retired from the legal profession in 1990 and moved to Atlanta. There he was a member of the Decatur Civic Chorus and the Greater Atlanta Rose Society and a volunteer at the Atlanta Branch of the National Archives and in adult literacy programs. Among his interests were genealogical research, music, books and reading, collecting art, flower gardening, and German Shepherd dogs. He is survived by his sister, Carolyn Crawford Thorsen, and her husband Tom of Atlanta; his brother, Duncan Crawford, and his wife Margaret Ellen of Maryville; his uncle and aunt, Roy and Dorothy Crawford of Maryville,; and six nieces and nephews: John Chesnutt, Maggie Chesnutt, Rebecca Crawford, and Adam Crawford of Atlanta; Tom Chesnutt of Cardiff, Cal., and Carol Chesnutt of Fairfield, Ia. An interment service for family members will be at Grandview Cemetery on Monday, July 14, at 2:00 p.m., followed by a memorial service at 3:00 p.m. at New Providence Presbyterian Church. The family will receive friends at the conclusion of the memorial service. A memorial service at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to New Providence Presbyterian Church, Blount County Public Library, or Hospice Atlanta, 1244 Park Vista Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30319.