Craig William Behrens, 73, passed away on February 27, 2020 in Madison, Alabama. He persevered as he fought a courageous five year battle with GBM and Myasthenia Gravis.
Craig is survived by his wife Pamela; son-in-law and daughter Christopher and Kimberly Stout of Madison, AL; daughter Kerrie D. Behrens of Tampa, FL; sister Cathy D. Paxton of St. Petersburg, FL; niece Kelly Paxton of St. Petersburg, FL; grand-niece Gabriella Paxton of St. Petersburg, FL; and mother-in-law Phyllis C. Leslie of Madison, AL. He is preceded in death by his father William D. Behrens and his mother Helyn E. Behrens of St. Petersburg, FL.
Craig was born on December 3, 1946 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He graduated from Northeast High School in St. Petersburg, Florida, class of 1964. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Bangkok, Thailand. He married Pamela J. Hamrick on December 6, 1968. They celebrated 50 years of marriage on December 6, 2018.
After moving to Huntsville Craig began working for SCI as lead manager of Space Science. Craig continued his career working for Signetics, Phillips (Netherlands), and Motorola. He received a B.S. from the The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Craig moved to Fort Wayne, IN to work for ITT. In 2009 he earned a Corporate Black Belt Certification: Value-Based Lean Six Sigma. He then managed divisions of ITT in Rochester, NY and Clifton, NJ where he ended his career as Deputy Manager of Sensory Electrical Products.
Craig and Pamela were charter members of Asbury Church in Madison. He also attended Asbury Theological Seminary in Berea, Kentucky, fulfilling his passion for further theological study.
His lifelong hobby of amateur radio endeared him to members of radio clubs in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and California. Scuba diving was also his active lifelong pursuit — he dove off the coast of 21 different islands.
A “Celebration of Life” ceremony will be held at a later date. A donation in Craig’s name may be sent to the Huntsville Amateur Radio League by contacting Billy Gold via email at KM4BGF@gmail.com.
