Craig Dawson Courtney

Craig Dawson Courtney, 65, passed away peacefully on May 14, 2022 in Houston, Texas, with his wife, Suzanne, by his side. After being diagnosed with leukemia in April of 2022, he fought fearlessly and without hesitation.

Craig attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he met the love of his life, Suzanne. As they both would agree, it was love at first sight. As a member of the fraternity Sigma Chi, he often endured some “hardships”- including consuming a diet consisting solely of raw eggs and minding to a wild goose. Any chance he could, he would sneak off to Suzanne’s dorm room where she would make his favorite meal, fried chicken. They shared many memorable times together while in Austin. They dated for five years, and in January of 1979, Craig drove to her hometown of Lake Jackson, Texas, where he proposed. After several years of struggles with infertility, they welcomed their beloved daughter, Chais Renee Courtney, into the world. Craig was greatly devoted to his family, putting their welfare and needs above his own.

Craig’s entrepreneurial roots began at an early age. Originally founded by his paternal grandfather, Jasper Newton Courtney (a.k.a ‘Doc’), in 1932, Courtney and Company had only one employee, Doc. He specialized in gold-leafing churches in the Houston area, and slowly branched out to painting small office structures when he could find the work. Over the next several years, Doc built a small crew of men to help with jobs in hopes of building a real painting company. During the late ‘30s and ‘40s, Courtney and Company, was relatively small but had built a reputation of honesty and cost effectiveness that was considered top tier in the construction specialty industry. In 1947, William Jasper Courtney, Craig’s father, the son of Jasper Newton Courtney, joined the small company to help with estimating and bidding work. By the 1950s, Courtney and Company had branched out to various Gulf Coast states and won one the nation’s largest painting contracts ever awarded.

In 1956, Jasper Newton passed away at the age of 53, and William Jasper took the reins. For the next twenty years, William concentrated on expanding both the commercial and industrial base of the business. The company became one of the largest commercial painting and wall covering companies in Houston.

In 1976, Craig Courtney, William’s son, joined the company as an estimator like Doc did thirty years earlier. Craig focused most of his energies on the industrial segment where he saw great potential. Over the next ten years, Craig learned the business from the bottom up, and in 1986 took the reins at age 29, as his father did some thirty years prior. Craig took great pride in his colleagues, and formed many lifelong friendships throughout the duration of his career.

Craig thoroughly enjoyed planning memorable trips with loved ones to the family ranch as well as tropical destinations. He created many lasting and unforgettable memories.

Craig is predeceased by his father, William Jasper Courtney, his mother, Billie Lou Courtney, and his sister Patricia Courtney Christopher. Craig is survived by his wife of forty-three years, Suzanne Courtney, his daughter, Chais Courtney, his sister, Sherril Barker, and last but not least, his beloved dog Cisco.

Weeks prior to his passing, Craig expressed his desire to make a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In lieu of flowers, we kindly ask for donations to St. Jude in Craig’s honor. The Courtney family would like to thank all friends and family for the tremendous amount of support and care they have shown throughout this entire process.