St. James Lutheran Church

John Craft

John E. Craft, 77, of Rock Island, died Monday, Dec. 29, 2008, at the Silver Cross Nursing Center, Rock Island.

Services for Mr. Craft will be 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 at St. James Lutheran Church, Rock Island. Visitation will be Friday, one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be at National Cemetery, Arsenal Island, where military rites will be conducted by the American Legion Post No. 246. Memorials may be made to the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, St. James Lutheran Church or Disabled American Veterans.

John was born Aug. 8, 1931, the son of Edwin and Mayme Wolfrum Craft. He graduated from Cambridge High School in 1949. He then served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1950 to 1954 during the Korean War, and in the Marine Corps Reserves until 1960. Mr. Craft married Joyce Behnke in 1954. He farmed for many years in Henry County. John built homes in Henry and Rock Island counties.

He was a commercial pilot and flew charter flights from the Quad-Cities, and also flew multi-engine turbine aircraft for Commuter and Britt Airlines. He took extension courses from the University of Illinois and graduated from Black Hawk College with a degree in computer programming. On Dec. 17, 1991, he married Jackie Cline in Las Vegas, Nev. They retired and moved to Rock Island.

John's memberships include St. James Lutheran Church and Deere Valley Collectors. As a hobby, he meticulously restored the "30" series of John Deere tractors. He was involved in Boy Scouts of America for eight years, and was in the Order of the Arrow.

Survivors include his wife, Jackie; son, Mark (and Cara) Craft, Viola; daughters, Karen (and Robin) Turner, Peoria, Ill., Pamela (and Paul) Allen-Baines, Blenheim, New Zealand; grandchildren, C.J., Jason, Jennifer, Sierra, Levi, Kyle, Brice and Alex; great-grandchildren, Jestin, Alec and Hailey. Mr. Craft was preceded in death by his parents.

This obituary was originally available at www.wheelanpressly.com.

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