On October 24, 2023, F. Craig McCurdy, age 76, went to be with the Lord, leaving behind a testimony of strong faith and deep love.
“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8.
Craig was born January 3, 1947, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, son of Richard McCurdy and Jean Meddock/McCurdy of Titusville.
In 1955 he moved to Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, where his father worked for Saudi Aramco Oil Company.
He returned to Titusville in 1961 as a freshman and graduated from Titusville Senior High School in 1965.
He attended the University of Pittsburgh and Robert Morris Business College.
Between 1964-1968, he played rhythm guitar for a local band, The Fenders.
In 1968 he enlisted in the Franklin Unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard taking his Infantry Basic and AIT training at Ft. Dix, NJ.
From 1970 until 1974 he served in the Alaska Army National Guard, attaining the rank of E-5.
On August 8, 1970, he married Debbie Fischer, daughter of Charles and Betty Fischer of Meadville, PA, and immediately moved to Fairbanks, Alaska.
They have one son, Clayton, born in 1975.
He graduated from the University of Alaska with an AA Degree in Science.
He was a lineman in the IBEW since 1974 and was employed at Golden Valley Electric Assn. in Fairbanks from 1979 until retiring in 2005, serving as Union Shop Steward for much of that time.
He enjoyed rodeo and participated in Alaska’s rodeo circuit in the bull riding events during the early 1980’s.
He graduated from Northwest Iowa School of Taxidermy in Spirit Lake, Iowa, in 1992 and practiced taxidermy in his spare time.
His greatest enjoyment and one of the things that drew him to Alaska was hunting and fishing.
In Alaska, some of his more memorable trophies were Dall sheep and Kodiak brown bear.
He also had a passion for waterfowl hunting.
In 2000 he and Debbie went on a safari to Tanzania, East Africa, where he hunted lion and cape buffalo.
He shot two cape buffalo and several plains game.
He earned a Veterinary Assistant Certificate from Penn Foster College in 2010 and worked for a short time at a veterinary clinic in Fairbanks.
Craig was a member of Bible Baptist Church.
He and Debbie often helped in a missionary youth camp on the lower Yukon River in the summers.
He earned a college degree in Bible from Faith Bible Institute in 2012 and worked in the Reformer’s Unanimous program at the church.
Craig is survived by his beloved wife Debbie, his son Clayton (Robyn); granddaughters Yelisa (Aaron), Emily, Kayla, and Kyleigh; and great granddaughter Liliana.
Funeral services will be held Friday, November 3rd, at 1 pm at the Independent Baptist Church in Pleasantville.
Interment will be at East Troy Cemetery between Hydetown and Diamond, near Titusville, PA.
Online condolences may be made to the family at https://www.garrettfuneralhomeinc.com/.
