AMHERST   Ralph Craig

Ralph P. Craig, age 82, of West Pomeroy Lane, died peacefully in his sleep, at home, early Tuesday morning, May 6^th, 2015.

Ralph Parsisson Craig was born October 16, 1932 in Easthampton, MA.  The son of Ralph Aiken Craig (1902 — 1941) and Florence (Parsisson) Craig (1904 — 1996), Ralph grew up in Easthampton, son of the local milkman. He was a graduate of Easthampton Public Schools, and Westfield State Teachers’ College.  He received his Master’s plus Thirty from University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

He taught public school in grades 5 – 8 for 33 years in Easthampton, Dalton and Amherst, He spent 20 years teaching 5^th  and 6^th  grade students at Crocker Farm Elementary School, in Amherst, (when it was a new experimental school with grand ideas) and was a very popular teacher. He retired early in 1987 to regain his health and enjoy hobbies.

Ralph is survived by his wife Grace (Johnson) Craig, daughter Talli McCormick, and grandson Ned McCormick.  In the past year, he lost his Aunt Florence, his best friend Tommy and his cousin Barbara, as well as his younger brother Bob.

Ralph loved teaching children about math, science and the wider world.  He used materials such as those from his long planned trip to explore the monuments and history of Ancient Egypt. He enjoyed music, particularly jazz and popular music of the 40s and 50s, with favorites like “Night and Day”.  His ever present baseball cap for the St. Louis Cardinals proclaimed his love of baseball.  He often told old basketball stories of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Wilt “the Stilt” Chamberlain. He enjoyed crossword puzzles, completing 3335 consecutive USA Today puzzles, with the last one done Tuesday May 5th.  He delighted in playing cribbage, and usually won!  He took great pleasure in his garden, called his “park”, where he spent many hours relaxing, enjoying flora and fauna or just puttering!

A memorial service will be held on Sunday May 31, at 1:00 pm, at the Douglass Funeral Home, Amherst.  In lieu of flowers, donations in Ralph’s memory may be made to Boston Children’s Hospital or Doctors without Borders or Habitat for Humanity. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.