Samuel Stephen "Steve" Crawford, age 91, of Atlanta, Georgia, passed away December 17, 2019 at his residence in Carrollton, Alabama. Memorial services will be 11:00 AM Saturday, December 28, 2019 at the First United Methodist Church of Reform with Rev. Randy Raper officiating and Skelton Funeral Home of Reform directing. Burial will follow in Graham Memorial Cemetery in Reform, Alabama. Visitation will be immediately following the service. He was preceded in death by his wife and parents.
Survivors include his daughter, Stephanie Crawford Cortez; three Grandsons, Tom Sanford II, Nicholas Noline, and Chris Davis; Son-in-Law, Tom Sanford; and Stepdaughter, Denise Dillinger.
Steve was born February 15, 1928 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Clifton Samuel and Hazel (Koehne) Crawford. His father married Jessie Louise Cameron in 1939. He had one adopted sister, Henrietta Louise, born in 1936, adopted 1946. Steve attended several universities including Kent State in Ohio, NYU while living in Chelsea, New York, and the University of Miami. He served in the Merchant Marines during World War II. In 1961, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he met and married the late Peggy (Bremer) Crawford of Atlanta. They had one daughter, Stephanie Elizabeth. He worked as a probation officer for Fulton County, Georgia for 30 years where he met Martha "Kay" (Kilpatrick) Crawford. They were married in 1978. He started his own private investigator firm and attended John Marshall Law School. They retired to Carrollton, Alabama.
He loved his cat, boating, watching war documentaries, and riding his lawn mower. Most of all, and I know everyone would agree, he was an avid conversationalist. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Wounded Warriors Family Support, 11218 John Galt Blvd, Suite 103 Omaha, NE 68137 (www.wwfs.org).