Carville Franklin McCraw was born on November 22, 1921, on a small farm in Farris, Oklahoma, as the oldest child of Artie and Frank McCraw.
By the time Carville was six years old, his father had developed malaria, and so the family moved to a healthier climate on a large farm in Roswell, New Mexico, where Carville spent a wonderful childhood working on the farm and riding his beloved horse Pecos. He grew up there with his parents and his three younger sisters Doris, Doretha, and Joe Ann. He loved the outdoor life, even though farming was hard work – he learned to pick cotton when he was only eight years old.
When Carville was fifteen, he became very ill with double pneumonia, and the doctors said that he would not live. At that time, his parents were not active in church, but they prayed for Carville constantly at his bedside in the hospital, and they promised God that if he would heal their son, they would serve Him faithfully for the rest of their lives. God answered their prayers, and as soon as Carville was able, he and his family attended a tent revival, where they committed their lives to Christ. Since that time, his faith directed the path of his entire life.
At an early age, Carville’s father taught him to play the guitar, and he developed a lifelong love for music. He was blessed with a beautiful Irish tenor voice, and in high school he and three friends formed a gospel singing group and enjoyed singing and playing at area churches and gatherings.
Because Carville’s parents wanted him to graduate from a Christian high school, they sent him to Ft. Worth, Texas for his senior year, where he received his diploma from Southwestern Bible School.
When he turned 19 years old, the United States had entered World War II, and Carville joined the Navy, where he served for 3 years on the USS Merrimack, fighting for his country both on the island of Okinawa, Japan, and throughout the South Pacific until the end of the War.
After the War, he returned to Oklahoma and met and married the love of his life, Jeri Mason McCraw. They had one daughter, Diane, and were happily married for 55 years until Jeri’s death in 2001.
Carville spent most of his life working for the US Department of Agriculture in Quality Control, receiving additional education in chemistry at the University of Ohio in the early 1970’s. The government stationed him in Oklahoma City, in Tupelo and North Mississippi, in Memphis, and in the West TN area around Jackson.
He made sure that his family was always active in church, and he served in the music ministry of a number of churches wherever they lived. He also loved the study of God’s word and taught both youth and adult Sunday School classes for many years.
Perhaps as a result of his early life on the farm, Carville always loved gardening and working in his beautiful flowerbeds. Wherever they lived, their yard was beautifully planted and carefully maintained. In his early 80’s, Carville became a Master Gardener in Jackson, TN. He not only took care of his own large yard and garden, but he also served as a volunteer to help maintain the Butterfly Garden at North Park in Jackson and the flower beds of the Jackson School for the Deaf.
In August of 2020, he moved to the Robinwood Retirement Complex in Bartlett, where he could be close to his family. God took him home to Heaven on the morning of April 9, 2023, Easter Sunday, at the age of 101.
Carville was preceded in death by his parents, Artie and Frank McCraw, his wife Jeri
Mason McCraw, his sisters Doris Cunningham and Doretha Shuttlesworth, and his son-in-law Ken Cox.
He is survived by his daughter Diane Cox; 3 grandchildren: Brian Cox (wife Laura), Mandy Webb, and Kimberly Williamson (husband Reath); 6 great-grandchildren: Kenny Cox, Lucas Cox, Ella Williamson, Emme Williamson, Lyric Webb, and Easton Webb, all of Bartlett, TN. He is also survived by his sister, Joe Ann Storie, of Tulsa, OK.
Arrington Funeral Group 148 W. University Parkway Jackson, TN 38305
