William Adna Crawford

Crawdaddy was only 92 years old when he passed away on May 3, 2025. He was the son of Adna Romulus Crawford of Ironton, Ohio and Wilhelmina Elizabeth Lowe of New York City. Crawdaddy is survived by his wife Dana, son Todd and his wife Christy and grandson Parker. He is also survived by his stepson Neil, his wife Kristen and granddaughter Emma. Not to mention the multitude of friends who were like family to him.

He was born on April 17, 1933 in New York City but never lived there because his father was a career Naval Officer. He spent much of his life traversing the nation with his nomadic military family, finally landing in Jacksonville, Fl where he lived most of his life. He was a proud member of the United States Navy on board the USS Leyte (CV-32) during the Korean war and attended the US Naval Academy in Annapolis before an untimely discharge due to medical issues.

He worked for and successfully retired from the City of Jacksonville's Information Systems Division in 1993 when he went to Key Largo to pursue his passion, scuba diving. Every weekend was spent teaching diving and he had a 50 yr career which ran parallel to his work for the city. His last dive was suppose to be on his 85th birthday. He ultimately stopped diving after his blindness progressed making it too difficult. He did one last dive on his 90th birthday to celebrate his love for the water and for diving. Crawdaddy was also an avid genealogist with over 2400 family members in his family file. He authored 2 books, one about his family and the other about the military history he discovered in his family genealogy. His ashes will receive a water burial from the deck of a US Navy ship with color guard and honor later this year. Always remember that a good life is filled with friends, wine, steak and potatoes. He was a decent hardworking man who cherished every minute of life, and valued friendship, compassion, adventure and purpose.