Alton (Buddy) Parker Craft III, 78, of Milton, Florida, passed away on Friday, October 23, 2026. Mr. Craft was born in Elizabethton, Tennessee to the late Melba Craft Madry and Alton Parker Craft, Jr. and resided in the Tuscumbia area until the late 1990s. He lived in Milton, Florida for the past 26 years.
He was a Vietnam veteran, serving in the U.S. Army abroad in the Berlin Command. During his time in the Army, he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Expert (Rifle), Army of Occupation Medal (Berlin) and the Good Conduct Medal. He earned a degree in Business Management from the University of North Alabama and retired after a 30-year career from the Tennessee Valley Authority. His work included research and project specialist where he worked at Muscle Shoals and remote locations in Colorado, South Dakota, Indiana, and Maryland. He was a member of the Masonic Washington Lodge #36 in Tuscumbia, Alabama and held the office of Junior Warden.
Mr. Craft enjoyed spending time and joking with his family and friends. He loved traveling, painting, reading, riding his bicycle and was an avid collector of pocket knives. For nine years, he volunteered with the American Cancer Society (ACS) as a Road-to-Recovery driver assisting patients with rides to their cancer treatments and was awarded the ACS Courage Award in 2012.
He was preceded in death by his sister Patricia Elias (Les) of Milton, Florida.
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Deborah Craft of Milton, Florida; son, Alton (Parke) Craft IV (Ann) of Guntersville, Alabama; son, Stefan Craft (Kim) of Tuscumbia, Alabama; son, Jason Craft of Tuscumbia, Alabama; grandchildren Sydney Craft, Blake Craft (Madisson), Kaitlin Craft Clements (Alex), Parker Craft, Emma Craft, and Jaxon Craft; and great grandchildren Ryland Black, Kai Gooch, Abel Craft, Savannah Craft, and Hanson Clements.
The family would like to thank the staff at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital and Vitas Hospice in Pensacola, Florida for their dedication and care.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Pallbearers: Alex Clements, Blake Craft, Kent Mann, Brent Medley, David Royer, Noel Smith, Jaxon Craft (Honorary) and Parker Craft (Honorary).
