William Edward Crawford Jr.

On Wednesday, March 13, 2019, longtime Hawthorne resident William Edward Crawford, Jr., widow and father, passed away peacefully at the age of 90. Ed, the eldest of six siblings, was born on June 25, 1928 in Brookville, PA to William and Frankie Smith) Crawford. Ed graduated from Brookville high school, class of 1946. He joined the US Army Air Force in 1946, which became the US Air Force in 1947, and served for three years as a mechanic and crew chief on P-80 aircraft at Selfridge Air Force Base in Detroit, Michigan, as a member of the 63rd Fighter Squadron (Jet) 56th Fighter Group. In 1949, he left the service as a sergeant and World War II veteran. He attended Northrup Aeronautical Institute in Los Angeles in 1950 – 1951, studying Aircraft and Aircraft Engine mechanics. He joined LA Airways, a helicopter passenger airline, upon completion of his courses. He went on to work for Northup Grumman Corporation, McDonnell Douglas and finally, TRW, as a metrology engineer. Ed married Mary ‘Gail’ Martinez of La Puente, CA in 1963. They raised a son and a daughter while living in Hawthorne, California. He loved working on various home projects for his family in his small but well-equipped garage. A sand box, tree house, and a balance beam were only a few of the many projects he built for his two children. In the mid 1990’s, Ed retired so that he could care for his wife, who was enduring health complications from diabetes. He selflessly cared for her until her death in 1997. This devotion, thoughtfulness, and generosity was how Ed showed his love for his family and friends. Over the years, Ed had developed a soft spot for cats. He particularly enjoyed the company and antics of his cats, Candy and Wee, during the past year. Ed had a lifelong interest in aeronautical and aerospace history and technology. He spent countless hours at local airshows and aerospace museums, absorbing everything he could about airplanes. He spent many hours researching and learning about aviation history. He was an avid builder of museum-quality model airplanes, spending many hours carefully adding details to his models. He was an active member of the local International Plastic Modeler’s Society for many years, as well as a long-time member of the American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS), based in Huntington Beach, CA. After retirement, he volunteered for the Western Museum of Flight (Torrance) and the Flight Path Museum and Learning Center located near LAX. He dearly enjoyed the volunteer work, working many hours to ensure that the history of LAX and its aircraft was not forgotten. Ed was preceded in death by his wife, Gail, his father, William, his mother, Frankie, his sister, Nancy, his sister, Barbara, and his brother, Jim Crawford. He is survived by his two children, Thomas Edward Crawford of San Jose, CA, and Paula (Ted) Crawford Vives of Los Alamos, NM, his two grandchildren Alex and Abby Vives of Los Alamos, NM, his brother Don of Aurora, CO, and his sister Mary of Canton, OH. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes at 1:45pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Ed's Memory to the American Aviation Historical Society, P.O. Box 3023, Huntington Beach, CA 92605-3023.