Carl Glenn Craig died peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones, on March 1, 2020. He was 91. His peaceful passage belied a life full of adventure, excitement, and new frontiers. He was a skilled outdoorsman, a fun and adventurous father, and an energetic friend to many. He will be terribly missed.
“Craig” was born on September 15, 1928 in Florence, Alabama to Glenn C. and Lola Mae Craig. In 1944, Craig left high school to join a U.S. Forest Service fire crew in Idaho. There, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served on the USS Bennington in the Pacific during the final months of World War II. He often teased his children telling them, “the enemy must have heard I was coming, and surrendered.” He was 16 years old at the time. He was tremendously proud of his service to our country as a U.S. Marine.
In 1947, he completed high school and self-trained as an electrician, becoming the first TV repairman for color television sets at Sears & Roebuck in Florence, Alabama. He was soon recruited as an electronics technician in Huntsville, Alabama at Redstone Arsenal working on computers “bigger than wardrobe closets” as he told the story years later. In 1958, NASA was created and Craig joined the Saturn V dream team where the computers he maintained helped put a man on the moon. Craig retired from NASA in the early 1980s, and turned his attention and energy fulltime to his life’s other passions.
Craig was an avid caver (spelunker), aircraft pilot, backpacker, hiker, canoeist, tree planter, postcard writer, naturalist, and teacher. He was an active member of the Huntsville Grotto search and rescue team for many years.
He is survived by his 4 children, Diane Hanson, Cliff Craig, Glenn Craig, and Nancy Craig, and by two grandsons, Benjamin Carl Hanson and Zachary Craig Hanson. He was preceded in death by his parents.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 2:00 pm at the National Speleological Society Headquarters, 6001 Pulaski Pike NW, Huntsville, AL 35810. Chocolate will be served. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the National Speleological Society Nature Preserves Fund.
