John Ivan Crader

He was preceded in death by parents, Ruth and Archibald, his brothers, Clifford (Cliff), Richard (Dick), Daniel (Dan) and his sister Carol, his son Charles (Chuck) and his wife Tillie (Tink). He is survived by his son William (Bill) Crader, his daughters Janet Crader and Vicki Sutton and 12 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

John always worked hard to provide for his family. First, as a dishwasher in a restaurant in Longview WA and then a move to Boeing in the late 1960’s until the early 1970s. He spent most of his career driving a forklift at Solid Wood on Westbay Drive in Olympia. When that became too much, he spent time working for a security company until he retired.

As a young family, we spent time out 4 wheeling in his Ford Bronco. We’d head up to Capitol Peak and find a dirt hill and up we’d go. We spent most of the time as a family on weekends heading to Grandpa and Grandma Crader’s house for a visit or to Grandma and Grandpa Whitcomb’s house for a barbeque and a swim at the lake or some type of get together. There was a lot of time spent with aunts and uncles and cousins just being outside and having fun. Summers were always the best.

John loved watching car races (live or on tv), and Wild World of Sports was a staple in our household. He enjoyed woodworking and cooking. He loved cars. As he got older, it was never a surprise when a he would pull into the driveway in a “new” car.

John married Marie Trowbridge in June of 1961 and had four children. Eventually, they divorced. John remarried on July 5, 1979, to Tillie (Tink) McCourry (Willis). She had 4 children of her own so this made a very big “Brady Bunch” family. He and Tink did just about everything together including taking short trips around the state or woodworking building toys and gadgets. They even managed to take a trip to Germany, his very first and only time on a plane, in late 1991. It was the trip of a lifetime for them both. When she was diagnosed with cancer, his world started to fall apart. When she passed, he was never the same again. He was lonely, sick and lost without her and didn’t ever really recover.

He loved talking with everyone, even total strangers. Others have described him as a big teddy bear, always friendly and willing to talk.

Graveside services will be held Saturday, April 5 at 3:00 p.m. All are welcomed.