James "Jim" Lyle Crawford

Jim Crawford

May 10, 1952  -  May 21, 2022

Jim was born on May 10, 1952, to Jack and Eileen Crawford in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Anybody growing up in that era can probably remember that as long as you checked in by suppertime, the rest of the day was yours to run free.  Jim’s dad worked for United Airlines with the family living right outside the airport.  This allowed four or five year old Jim, followed by his trusty mutt Dinger, to daily visit all his grownup  buddies who worked as firefighters or city workers at the airport.

If he wasn’t making his rounds, he was being pestered by his older brothers, Jack and Larry, or pestering his little sisters, Debbie and Connie.  One vivid memory was when his big brothers coaxed him into urinating on an electric fence, promising it wouldn’t hurt at all.  Jim learned a valuable lesson that day…don’t trust your big brothers! Another favorite pastime of Jim’s was to get the chickens all riled up, making them chase his terrified little sisters around the yard screaming.

In first grade the family moved to Indianola, Iowa.  Jim graduated from High School in 1971 where he excelled in sports, especially track.  His favorite event was the 440-yard dash, and he still holds the record at his high school, mainly because the year after he set it they switched from yards to meters.  His speediness earned him a full ride college scholarship.  He went on to become an All-American on a relay team at the University of Missouri in Columbia.  He finished his education at Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, and earned a bachelor’s degree in forest management.

After meeting and marrying Maggie, Jim’s first grownup job was as a park ranger at a county park in Dow City, Iowa.  Living at the park, although it had some memorable moments, wasn’t the ideal life they had imagined.  They decided to move to the west where Jim got on with United Airlines in Boise.  There they had their children, Luke and Jessica.

In 1985, Jim finally got his dream job as property manager, aka “the toy keeper,” for Joe Scott, first in Boise and then moving to McCall in 1994.  This allowed Him to pursue adventures such as snowmobiling, jet boat racing, steelhead fishing, Harley riding, etc.

With his bucket list fulfilled, Jim passed away on May 21, 2022 due to kidney failure caused by prostate cancer.  He was preceded in death by his mom, dad, and brother Larry.  He is survived by his wife Maggie, son Luke Crawford and wife Hannah of McCall, daughter Jessica Foster and husband Nick and granddaughters Amelia and Adeline Foster of Boise, brother Jack Crawford and family of Columbia, Illinois, sister Debbie Graham and family of Indianola, Iowa and sister Connie Turner and family of Redfield, Iowa.

A service will be held at Our Savior Lutheran Church in McCall on Saturday, June 4th at 1:00 p.m.  Ashes will be buried at the Finn Church Cemetery and also spread at Inspiration Point, one of Jim’s all-time favorite places to snowmobile.  In lieu of flowers, donations to unitedpayette.org would be appreciated to help conserve and protect the beautiful area we are blessed to live and play in.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

Online condolences may be left at www.mccallfunerals.com

Arrangements in care of McCall Funeral Home.

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