ALASTAIR T. CRAWFORD BIOGRAPHY:
(The obituary below was originally obtained from the Morrison Funeral Home web site. The Morrison Funeral home is located at 110 Petroleum Street, Oil City, PA 16301)
Alastair T. Crawford, 82, of 7 Smedley St, Oil City, died Monday, April 2, 2012, at UPMC Northwest in Seneca. Born September 26, 1929 in Glen Ridge NJ, he was a son of the late Albert J. and Margaret Hutcheson Crawford. Mr. Crawford earned his undergraduate degree from Upsala College, East Orange NJ, his master’ Degree from Montclair State College and did additional graduate work at the University of Colorado, Northern Illinois University and Kent State University. He served honorably in the US Army from 1953 to 1955. Mr. Crawford was a Professor Emeritus at Clarion University. He taught at both main and Venango campuses from 1963 until his retirement in 1991. Along with teaching survey courses in American History, Professor Crawford also taught courses in labor history, recent American reform, US economy history and American government. In 1984, Professor Crawford offered a course entitled “The Oil Boom Years” at Venango Campus to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the discovery of oil. In recent years, Mr. Crawford’s major research interest has been in ethnic history, in particular the role played by Scots in America. At present he was involved in a research project concerning Scottish influences in American history. Mr. Crawford was the featured speaker at the Robert Burns Club dinner in January 1989, when he gave the “Immortal Memory” emphasizing the interest Robert Burns had in the American Revolution. In 1995 he had published a major paper entitled “The Scots in the American Revolution, A Reappraisal”. He was a member of the Organization of American Historians, Phi Alpha Theta National Honor Society in History, the Institute of Scottish Studies, the Eighteenth Century Scottish Studies Society and the Burns Club of Erie. Mr. Crawford was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Oil City, where he served as an elder. On July 16, 1960 he married the former Janet L. Jones of Kingston PA, she survives. They had celebrated 51 years of marriage. Also surviving are two sons, Alastair Crawford II and wife Theresa and Douglas Crawford; and six grandchildren, Michael and fiancée Lauren Ritter, David, Allison, Ashley, Katlin and Sarah Crawford. Friends may call at the Morrison Funeral Home on Friday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 pm. Funeral services will be held at 11 am Saturday in the First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Ronee Christy, pastor, officiating. Interment will be in Grove Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the First Presbyterian Church, 215 E Bissell Ave, Oil City PA 16301.
