Donald James Crawford

February 3, 1926 - July 26, 2019

Donald James Crawford passed away peacefully, at the Oakville Trafalgar Hospital on July 26, 2019.

Don was a true gentleman and a man who truly loved his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his great grandchildren, his church and his music.

In September, Don and his wife Helen Crawford would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. They met at McMaster University, after Helen smartly invited Don to the Sadie Hawkins Dance.

Don loved and always had time for his 4 children (Fred, Shelley, Tom and Robert), his grandchildren (Amanda, Lindsay, Shannon, Emily, Mike, Sarah, Jacob and Abbey) and his great grandchildren (Ethan, Ava, Austin and Maisie). He always loved to hear about their busy lives and activities.

Don also loved his church. Don and Helen were members of Lorne Park Baptist Church and through the years, Don would participate in or chair various committees, volunteer for Out of the Cold, stuff envelops at CBM or even get involved with policy meetings for BCOQ and the Baptist World Alliance.

Don also loved music and at the age of 50, decided that he would start learning the cello. He took lessons, went to camps with teenagers and played in a local Oakville String Group. He loved it. Later in life to continue his love of music, he joined the Kerr Street Singers, took singing lessons and sang with them for many years.

Don grew up in St. Catharines and graduated with a physics & chemistry degree and Masters from McMaster. He joined DuPont where he had a successful career working in Toronto, Montreal and Kingston. Don took early retirement and rather than slow down, worked for many years with the Jackman Foundation. He had the enviable position of helping to distribute funds to deserving charities and organizations.

For many years, Don spent his free time sailing and boating and also found enough time to get his Private Pilot license and in order to give back to the community, he became a Cub Leader.

For the last 10 years, Don had been having early morning dialysis three times per week at the Oakville Trafalgar Hospital. This was extremely draining and restricting for Don and Helen. The nurses, volunteers and other dialysis patients were like family to him and he had excellent care.

Don was loved by many for his great sense of humour, his positive outlook and his exemplary character. He will be missed and remembered with much love.

The Celebration of Life Service will be held on August 2nd at Kopriva Taylor Funeral Home, 64 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville at 1:00 pm. Reception to follow.

If desired, donations may be made to the Canadian Kidney Foundation.