William R. Crawford C.E.C, A.A.C., known to his
family as Rodney and to most of the world as Chef Crawford, traded in his
earthly body for a heavenly one on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 after a 2-year
battle with pancreatic cancer.
Bill was born on September 4, 1946. He grew up in Flint, MI where he attended Oak
Park Methodist and graduated in 1965 from Flint Central High School.
After serving in the Air Force from 1965-1968, Bill
pursued his passion for cooking by attending The Culinary Institute of America,
graduating with honors in 1974. He
married, had two beautiful daughters, and spent the next twelve years opening
restaurants for hotels and country clubs around the United States.
In 1987, Bill came back to Flint and began
teaching Culinary Arts at Mott Community College.
In 1997, Bill married Connie Marshall. As their life continued they were blessed
with four grandchildren. Ella, Ian, Neil
and Ember were the light of his life.
After Bill’s retirement from Mott Community
College in 2012, Bill and Connie fulfilled their dream of traveling the USA
full time in an RV. They saw so much of
this beautiful country, visiting every state except Nebraska. They made many wonderful friends that became
family and enjoyed so many wonderful foods on their journey.
Bill is survived by his loving wife Connie and
daughters Jennifer Crawford-Kocik of Wixom, MI, Andrea Lafferty of Cedar Park,
TX and Athena Gould (Nate) of Bowie, TX.
Sisters Mary Lavengood (Barc) of Hudson, FL, Chris Burns (Wayne) of
Grand Blanc, MI and Linda Koory (Chuck) of Grand Blanc, MI.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents William and Joyce Crawford, his brother Douglas, and many special aunts, uncles and cousins.
In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the American Culinary Federation Flint/Saginaw Valley Chapter Chef William R. Crawford Endowment. It was Bill’s dream to help culinarians explore their passion of food and food culture.
