Robert W. Craig 1931-2023 Milton, NJ - Robert Craig, 92, of Lake Swannanoa in Milton passed away on March 3, 2023. He entered into eternal life from his home, surrounded by family. Robert was born in Morristown, February 18, 1931, the only son of Daniel and Gladys Craig. He was raised in Basking Ridge, NJ before moving to Milton with his wife. A veteran, he served in the the Korean War in the United States Marines from 1951 to 1953. He graduated from Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts in 1957. After graduation, he worked for Jersey Central Power and Light (First Energy) initially as a display designer, creating window displays, and was later trained as a relay runner for the company. He worked for JCP&L for 36 years until he retired in 1993. Robert was a volunteer for NJ Fish and Game as well as teaching art classes to the residents of Wiegand Farm in Milton NJ. He was an active member of the Lake Swannanoa Sentinel Society and homeowners association.
Robert was an artist all his life. He was always sketching. The walls of his home were covered with his watercolors, oils and prints. The kitchen table was always littered with illustrations and visuals of thoughts and ideas.
He will always be remembered first and foremost as an outdoorsman. His knowledge of the natural word was extensive from years of reading and observing. Nothing escaped him. His memory was encyclopedic.
Robert had a passion for trout and fishing. Brookies, browns and rainbows. Whether spin casting from the dock on the lake in his backyard, ice fishing in the coldest of winter, or fly fishing on his beloved Rockaway River, he was intimate with the rivers and ponds and lakes of the area. He understood their currents and eddies; he knew where and when. He could read the water.
When he wasn’t fishing on the weekends, he was hunting. He adored his hunting dogs, his girls. Weekends during the winter were tired muddy dogs sleeping by the wood stove and the smell of pheasant stew simmering. His children grew up with the flavors of fields and woods, lakes and streams.
He is predeceased by his wife Jeanne Craig, and leaves behind his sister Eldred Hassan in Fort Worth TX, his children, Thadd C. Craig and his wife Barbara of Milton NJ, Lisa L. Craig of Richmond RI, Tia L. Holt and her husband Andrew of Lebanon NJ, and Robert T. Craig and his husband Ronald Rouillard of Springfield MA; his 6 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
The lake was his extended family. Flora and fauna. The beavers, otters and muskrats will miss him. But not the trout and the perch.
At his wish there will be no services. Friends who would like to donate in his memory should send monetary contributions to Lake Swannanoa Homeowners Association, PO Box 2385, Oak Ridge NJ 07438.
