In Memoriam

December 27, 1936 - December 8, 2018

  I just wanted you to know that my Father passed away after a long bout with Alzheimer's/ Dementia  last night. He is in a better place now.  We lost another great one on his last check ride to the West!

Sincerely,  Jeff Crawford

Since Dick's passing the following has been received by those who flew with him at Tigers.

=====================================

I was fortunate, along with fellow Captain Jeff Krosse, to attend the Memorial Service for Captain Dick Crawford, FedEx/Flying Tigers, who passed away December 8th, 2018, in Hamilton Montana, from a history of Dementia.  It was a gathering of Friends and Family numbering about 25.  Wife Susan, a former Flying Tiger Flight Attendant, and Sons paid tribute with a Slide/Video presentation of Dick's Career that was unforgettable.  Initially hired by TWA, Dick was fortunate to be furloughed and later hired by Flying Tigers.....a "Silver" outcome indeed!
Thoughts and Prayers for the Crawford Family please!
Respectfully,
Dan Depauw

======================================

I’m saddened to hear of the passing of Dick Crawford and want to share a great story from April of 1979. Dick, Bill Helbig and I returned a leased Cargolux DC-8 to Frankfurt on my 25th birthday. Upon arrival Dick asks me where I want to layover since we were deadheading home. I had never been to Europe previously and had no idea where I wanted to layover. He says we can stay in Frankfurt or go to Paris, London, Rome…wherever I wanted to go. So I picked London and off we went. Not for 12 hours and go. We spent two days there seeing the sights. Of course we had a cold one at the Tiger Pub in London. What a gentleman. Feel free to share this story.

Regards, Dan Carpenter

=====================================

With great sadness I read about the passing of Dick Crawford! Seniority and circumstances (luck?) dictated my having the pleasure and honor of flying with Dick many times during the early years of my carrier with Flying Tigers, both as a second and first officer on the DC-8 and a F/O on the 74. Dick was the consummate Captain and even more importantly, the epitome of the “Tiger Spirit!” I never saw Dick get flustered or intimidated by the circumstances or the crises of the moment, he remained calm and kept the rest of the crew on task! The consummate professional!
Yet my most memorable memories of Dick, and what most inspired my future behavior (at least I like to think) as a Captain years later was how he treated his fellow crew members on the average multi day trip. The sequence happened like this several times when I was a F/O flying with Dick on a long sequence to the Orient and back. While laying over in Anchorage outbound, Dick would make a reservation at the Club Paris (one of his favorite places in Anchorage I always assumed) for our scheduled return layover many days later. The other crew member didn’t know how this was going to work, although I got the the picture about the third time! Upon arriving back at ANC many days later and checking into the hotel dead tired and exhausted, Dick would say to us, “how about meeting for dinner around 7 at the Club Paris.” We would meet, drink, eat, tell stories, maybe stop off at F Street for a nightcap (just one nightcap of course). Then the next day, fly the final leg home. Dick always bought dinner for the crew, including agents and mechanics if it was one of those trips! That was an inspiration that stayed with me through my later days as a Captain flying SIBA for FedEx around Europe and the Middle East. I bought a lot of drinks and dinners for my F/O’s and am proud and honored that my inspiration was Captain Dick Crawford! I hope the tradition continues because Dick was to me, a true “Tiger Sprit!”

Captain Michael Turner, Retired. Trying Tigers/FedEx

Anyone else wishing to contribute to this page with archived pictures or testimonials about Dick is encouraged to contact us at email@flyingtigerline.org