Raymond Crawford

Raymond Prentice Crawford, 90, passed away Tuesday, January 22, 2019 in Benbrook.

Funeral service: 2:00 p.m., Monday, January 28, 2019 at Agape Baptist Church, 3900 Southwest Blvd., Fort Worth, 76116. Visitation: 1-2:00 p.m., Monday, at the church. Burial: 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy., Dallas.

Prentice was born March 11, 1928 in rural Lamar County, Texas to Raymond and Edith Crawford. He was the first of seven children. His family farmed and ranched the land they lived on. He graduated from Deport High School in 1946. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and was honorably discharged in May of 1947. He was mistakenly drafted into the U.S. Army after serving a year in the Marines, but decided to serve in the Army even though he could have been dismissed after having already served in the Marines. Prentice was stationed at different bases in the states and West Germany, where he served as an M.P. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1954. He married Mary Jo Randolph on August 31, 1957. They moved to Fort Worth and he was hired by Convair (General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin) and retired from Lockheed Aerospace in 1992. Prentice enjoyed 26 years of retirement spending time with his family and at his ranch in East Texas. He was active in his church, enjoyed hunting, the Dallas Cowboys, fast cars, and playing dominoes with his friends at the Benbrook Senior Center. Prentice will be missed by all who knew him.

Prentice was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Edith Crawford of Deport, brothers, Russell and Larry Crawford, also of Deport.

Survivors: Loving wife of 61 years, Mary Jo Crawford of Benbrook; son, Kent Crawford of Benbrook; grandson, Chris Crawford of Seattle, Wash.; sisters, Virginia Rhodes, Barbara Crawford, Shirley Gifford; and brother, Donald Crawford of Deport.

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