Allen Crawford

Allen Reece Crawford, age 89, went to be with his Lord on Friday, January 17, 2014 while at Gateway Medical Center.
A celebration of his life will be 1 p.m. Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at the chapel of McReynolds-Nave & Larson, with Rev. Cliff Wright and Rev. Laurie Hynson officiating. Burial will follow in Greenwood Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 5-8 p.m. Monday and from 11 a.m. until the hour of service Tuesday at the funeral home.
Allen, who was one of four children, was born July 8, 1924 in Jackson, TN, and was preceded in death by his parents, Allen Reece Crawford, Sr. and Ruby Louise Givens Crawford; his siblings, Kathryn Sevier Morris and Joseph Carroll Crawford; and brother-in-law, Joe Morris.
Allen is survived by his wife of 65 years, Virginia West Crawford; daughter and only child, Janice (Chris) Schroeder; his beloved grandson, Cy Schroeder; sister, Dorothy Cannon Wilson; sister-in-law, Jeanette Crawford and brother-in-law, James Wilson.
After Allen’s father died when he was fifteen, he quit school and went to work to help his mother. Once he turned 18, he enlisted and was inducted into the Army Air Corps during WWII While in the service, he became a surgical technician and served 2 of his 3 years in China. Upon discharge from the service, he was hired by the Illinois Central Railroad where he was a lineman for 24 years, and then a radio technician for 15 years until his retirement in 1985 at the age of 61.
They moved from Jackson, Mississippi to Clarksville, Tennessee to be with their daughter and son-in-law, became a member at Madison Street United Methodist Church and Graduated from Clarksville High School in 1987. Retirement was short lived and Allen went to work for Walmart for 3 years, then on to Jostens for 10 years, where he finally retired for good. By that time, he had his beloved grandson, Cy. The next phase of his life was spent having a garden and building Martin houses out of gourds, however most of his time was spent following his grandsons football, basketball, and baseball games. He was a fixture at Clarksville High games and was lovingly called PaPa by all.
Pallbearers will be, Mike Cannon, Jody Crawford, Owen Schroeder III, Troy Schroeder, Cole McWhirter and Zach Patton. Honorary Pallbearers will be, Lynn Cathey and James Wilson.
Services are in the care of McReynolds-Nave and Larson Funeral Home, (931) 647-3371 or online navefuneralhomes.com.