Florida Old Guard Riders

CRAIG, Robert James "Bob" Bob Craig drew new cars for catalogs. He created ads for 1950s subdivisions, produced television commercials for appliances, and as a young soldier during World War II he sketched maps of the Allied invasion in North Africa. A creative, witty, marketing genius, Bob was proficient at all forms of art. But his family treasured his portraits most. He painted all five of his children, most of his 16 grandchildren, and a few of his 7 great-grandchildren. Dogs and cats, horses and fields, flowers and friends, all sorts of creations came alive beneath Bob's gentle hand. Robert James "Bob" Craig died in Land O ' Lakes on Sunday, May 22, 2011, a few months before he would have turned 90, and just a month shy of his 65th anniversary. He went Home, lifted in song and surrounded by his beloved wife, Doris, all of his children and many grandkids.  

Born in Springfield, OH on Sept. 30, 1921, Bob grew up in Detroit during the Depression. His mother, Ruth O'Brien stayed home to raise Bob, and his four older sisters, until her death when he was nine. His dad, Robert S. Craig, was a sign-painter, who gave Bob his artist's eye. Bob skipped school as a boy - to sneak into art galleries. He was mostly self-taught, but honed his skills at federal art centers sponsored by the Work Progress Act. At 18, he left home to join the Army - a few months before Pearl Harbor.

He served in the U.S. Army, one of ten to join the 15th Infantry, Third Division, the first recruits since the divisions' service in China. Bob learned Japanese, and when the war started, landed in French North Africa, where he sketched the invasion, then moved on to Sicily and Italy. When he came home in 1945, he reconnected with his childhood friend, Doris. They raised two boys and three girls on an advertising salary. When he chose to adventure out on his own, his entrepreneurial spirit meant life was often feast or famine, peppered with a series of advertising firsts: the first to use scented ink in newsprint; the first to utilize television for tours of homes for sale, and the first to promote a foldable, one-person golf cart. Work was a series of adventures - of successes and near misses. Through the good times and bad, the family enjoyed each other, the simple things in life and weekend car trips to Ohio.

In 1963, when "American Bandstand" was big, Bob helped found one of the original 'teen clubs" called the Teen World Nightclub, which brought acts like The Supremes, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, and Stevie Wonder to the Coliseum at the Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit. The show was carried on local TV and lasted all summer. Bob moved his family to Saginaw, MI that fall, and stayed for 20 years. His advertising career blossomed with several area agencies: Campbell-Stark, Gray Advertising, Breen Advertising, and Ross-Roy. In 1982, he took a job as vice-president of Louis Benito Advertising in Tampa bringing with him the McDonald's franchise group. It was his dream account and it stayed with him until his retirement. He lost his larynx to esophageal cancer in 1983, learned to speak again with an instrument, and graduated to a prosthetic voice box. Losing his natural voice, however, never stopped Bob from being the ultimate communicator. He was president of the local chapter of Chatter Box, a laryngectomy support group, and served on the Florida State Board of Speech Therapy. He stayed with Benito until he retired in 1992.

Bob received the Lord as his personal Savior in the early 1980s, and saw it strengthen his relationship with his wife and his children. His love of the Lord was comparable only to his love of family and his country. That spirit lifted up whomever he was with, wherever he went. His infectious love of life, his humor, and creativity stayed strong until the end.

Bob is survived by Doris Marie Oriole, his wife of 65 years; and a large and loving family; his children, Diane Marie Craig of Gulfport, Julie Ruth Cramton (Ralph) of New Port Richey, Robert Patrick Craig (Toni) of Saginaw, MI, Marie Craig Mossner (Brad) of Grand Rapids, MI and Philip James Craig (Sherry) of Sandy, UT; nephews Bob Baker of Ohio, Robert Palmer and Christopher Bonarrigo of Michigan, and Perry Bonarrigo of Nevada; nieces Sharon Baker Norman (David) of Ohio, Mary Beth DiFranco, Paula Bonarrigo, & Ruth Ann Thrift of Michigan; 16 grandchildren (Carmen, Jenny, Elizabeth, Joshua, Becky, Erich, Kristine, Michael, Stephanie, Gretchen, Tara, Vince, Emilee, Eve, Jessica and John), and 7 great-grandchildren.

A member of The Greatest Generation, Bob  received a military service at the Florida National Cemetery and was honored with a Patriot Guard Ride. "God has seen fit to make the ground for Bob a little less bumpy, and the air a lot calmer." Memorials may be made to Honor Flight West Central Florida, P.O. Box 55661, St. Petersburg, FL 33732

A video of the service can be seen here.