TAPS: CAPT John Glover Crawford, Jr., USN (Retired), 75, of Dumfries, Virginia

 John Glover Crawford, Jr., 75, of Dumfries, Virginia, passed away on November 21, 2021, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

 Beloved husband, father and grandfather, John was an inspiration to all who knew him and will be greatly missed. He was born on January 23, 1946 in Richmond, Virginia and graduated from Douglas S. Freeman High School in 1963. He graduated from Emory and Henry College in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a minor in accounting. John met the love of his life, Patricia Tremer, while both were in high school and they married on August 29, 1970.

 John started his career as a bank examiner with the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency and then worked at the family business, Colony House Furniture, in Richmond, Virginia. He then began his long and distinguished career in the service of his country as a naval officer for 31 years.

 He was commissioned into the United States Navy through Aviation Officer Candidate School at Pensacola, Florida, in March 1968. His initial assignment was on the staff of Commander Seventh Fleet, aboard the USS Providence and the USS Oklahoma City, homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. During his storied career in the U.S. Navy, he served with honor at the Fleet Intelligence Center Europe and Atlantic; on the USS Ranger; at Carrier Air Wing 20 at NAS Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida; as the Reserve Intelligence Program Officer for the Southern California, Arizona and Nevada areas; and at the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center in Dam Neck, Virginia. In 1990, he was assigned to London, England as the Executive Officer for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Europe with additional duty as the Foreign Counterintelligence Officer for the Commander in Chief U.S. Naval Forces Europe. In 1994, he was assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence in Suitland, Maryland as the national program sponsor for the Naval Reserve Intelligence Program and he headed the Navy's personnel and training effort with the test and evaluation of the Predator UAV program. He was then assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., directing a joint Reserve program. He honorably retired from the U.S. Navy in April 1998, at the rank of Captain and worked for several years as a civilian for the Defense Intelligence Agency. John received numerous awards and medals during his distinguished service in the military, including the Legion of Merit.

John loved his family and enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren. He enjoyed his lifelong friendships with his Phi Pi Alpha fraternity brothers and attending alumni events at Emory and Henry College. He also enjoyed traveling, cooking, and watching sports, especially golf, auto racing and Washington football games. He loved spending time at his home in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and the company of his dogs, Flynn and Bentley.

 John was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Tremer Crawford; and his parents, John Glover Crawford Sr. and Catherine Illig Crawford. He is survived by his three daughters, Kelli A. Edwards of Ashburn, Virginia and husband, Isaac, Kimberly C. Paisley of Arlington, Virginia and husband, Jason and Katie C. Mead of Bristow, Virginia and husband, Michael; and his six grandchildren, Bridget A. Edwards, Sydney Q. Paisley, Skylar A. Mead, Jordan E. Mead, Taylor J. Mead and Shelley N. Mead. He is also survived by his two brothers, Thomas C. Crawford of Little Rock, Arkansas and William H. Crawford of Orlando, Florida.

 A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, December 3, at 10 a.m. at St. Bridget Catholic Church, 6006 Three Chopt Rd., Richmond, Virginia 23226. Interment to be held in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. His family suggests contributions be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, or the Emory and Henry Fund, Emory and Henry College, P.O. Box 950, Emory, Virginia 24327.