Father Robert F. Crawford, MM

Born: August 29, 1934
Ordained: June 10, 1961
Died: February 28, 2024

Father Robert F. Crawford died on February 28, 2024 in the Assisted Living Unit at Maryknoll, New York.  He was 89 years old and a Maryknoll priest for 62 years.

Robert Firman Crawford was born on August 29, 1934, son of William and Dorothy Fuhrmann Crawford, in South Orange, New Jersey, one of four sons. He attended St. Andrew’s Grammar School in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, and graduated from West Catholic High School in Philadelphia. He joined Maryknoll in September 1952 at Lakewood, New Jersey and was ordained on June 10, 1961.

Following ordination Father Crawford was assigned to Taiwan. There he began the long and difficult task of learning Chinese, first the Taiwanese dialect and later Mandarin Chinese. After the first year of language school he was assigned to various parishes as assistant. A year later he went back to language school to further improve his spoken Taiwanese. He then served as pastor in the Sha-lu area for three years. Father Crawford was just getting comfortable in the language when he was called back to the United States to work on promotion for three years, from 1967 to 1970. He was assigned to the San Francisco Promotion House during a rather volatile time in the U.S. when Haight-Ashbury was the cultural center of San Francisco.

Assigned back to Taiwan in 1970, Father Crawford asked and was given permission to work with the Scheut Fathers in Taichung City for several years, after which he went up to Friendship House in Taipei. Taiwan was in transition from an agrarian society to an industrial society.  The young were moving to the big cities to find work and Maryknoll moved with them.

Father Crawford worked in Friendship House for three years, from 1973 to 1976. An opportunity for Maryknoll Missioners to work in the Southern part of Taiwan presented itself, and Father Crawford, along with several other Maryknoll priests, went to Kaohsiung, the southern port city of Taiwan.

Father Crawford was assigned to the U.S. in July 1983 and then assigned to the Formation/Education Department serving first as director of the Overseas Training Program for two years. He was then assigned as Director of the Brothers’ Candidate/ Seminary Program at Seton Hall in South Orange, New Jersey for two years, and finally a year at New Rochelle in a program that was still referred to as a novitiate year, before returning to Taiwan in 1987.

From 1987 until 2010 Father Crawford was the pastor in three parishes in the Taichung Diocese.  Each of these parishes was turned over to native Diocesan priests. In between parishes he was in charge of the Maryknoll Center in Taichung City. In December 2010, he was assigned as temporary pastor of the Nantou City parish. He was in Nantou until June of 2011, when he returned to Maryknoll, New York to celebrate his 50^th anniversary of ordination.

Father Crawford was assigned to the United States Region in 2012, and became a member of the Pastoral Care staff at Mission St. Teresa’s. He was assigned to the Senior Missioner Community in 2014, and in 2015 was appointed Third Assistant to the Superior of the Senior Missioner Community for a three-year term. He continued to reside at the Society Center in Maryknoll, New York.

Father Crawford is survived by his brothers, Dr. William (Grace) Crawford and Paul (Natalie) Crawford, as well as many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. He was predeceased by his brother, Eugene Crawford.

Wake services were held on March 4, 2024 at the Holy Spirit Chapel and the Queen of Apostles Chapel at the Maryknoll Society Center. Mass of Christian Burial followed at 11:00 a.m. and was concelebrated in the Queen of Apostles Chapel. Father Norbert Pacheco was the Celebrant and Father John Moran was homilist. Father David Pfeiffer read the biography and Father Cuong Nguyen read the Oath. Burial followed in the Maryknoll Society Cemetery with Father James Najmowski presiding at the graveside prayers.