Robert Michael Crawford

Best be home lickity split when you heard his whistle. Bob was a no nonsense kind of dad. But, he was one of the beloved dads in the neighborhood; the one who took the time to tease all the kids. He looked around one day and saw lots of acreage and decided that his kids looked like they had some spare time on their hands. It was all put to good use with the advent of his Christmas tree farm. Summertime for planting and trimming; wintertime for cutting down and selling. His house was next to the fire department alarm, so he figured besides sounding the alarm he might as well put out the fires too. Bob was the chief in Auburn for many years and even played Santa at the firehouse events. Some said he was close to a dollar unless it came to splurging on tools. “Don’t throw that out, I might need it someday!” you’d hear him exclaim about everything imaginable. His other expressions probably aren’t fit for polite company, but they’d make you smile. He was a chemical operator for DuPont; but even all that couldn’t keep him from being restless. Just for fun he’d go pump gas on the turnpike.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy. They were blessed by children: Stephen (Reggie), Reed (Irene), Jack (Zoeann), Susan (Mitchell) Press, Cindy Tempalski, Bernie Tempalski, Barbara Tempalski and Irene (Bill) Tempalski; and he’s survived by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Come celebrate 88 great years Tuesday 10-11:30 a.m. at Daley Life Celebration Studio where there will be a storytime at noon. Interment Lake Park Cemetery, Swedesboro.