~ IN MEMORY ~
Vietnam war veteran, DL Capt. Robert ‘Bob’ D.
Craft
January 21, 1943 ~ April 10, 2013
Word has been received with the passing of decorated USAF
Vietnam war veteran, retired DL pilot and Delta Golden Wings member Captain
Robert Donald Craft, age 70. Captain Craft hired on with Delta 02-26-1973 and
retired at the mandatory age 60 in 2003. He was based MIA/ATL/PDX and flew
international routes for much of his commercial airline career.
Survived by his wife, PAA/DL retired F/A Alycia Araneo Craft,
personal condolences may be sent to the Craft’s residence at
701 Binnacle Point Drive , Longboat Key FL 34228-1603 .... (941)
387-7017
A memorial service will be held at a later date. Brown & Sons Funeral
Homes & Crematory of Bradenton, FL have been entrusted with
arrangements.
---------------------------------------------
Craft, Capt. Robert
•Name: Craft, Capt. Robert
•Died: 4/10/13
Capt. Robert Craft of Longboat Key, FL passed away on April 10, 2013, at
the age of 70.
Bob was born in Louisville, KY on January 21, 1943. He was the son of
Robert & Elma Craft of KY.
He is survived by his devoted wife of 35 years, Alycia Araneo Craft
formerly of Charleston, S.C. His sister, Barbara Jarvis & husband, Dennis
Jarvis; brother, John Craft & his wife, Linda Craft; nieces, Angela Bowman
& Vallerie Becker; nephews, Matthew & Michael Craft.
Bob attended Winter Park High School in Winter Park Florida, & after
moving to Okinawa he graduated from Kubasaki High School in Okinawa, Japan in
1961. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1965. He was active in
the ROTC program and created The Capt. Bob Craft Scholarship Fund. Bob was a
member of the (Pike)Pi kappa Alpha Fraternity .Among his many achievements, Bob
entered the USAF and served two tours as a C-130 Pilot in Vietnam, from 1967
-1969, where he received the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry and
airmanship. He returned to Langley AFB and served as an Instructor Pilot until
1973, when he began his career with Delta Air Lines.
Throughout his life he stayed very active in many patriotic veteran
associations.
This news has been received with the passing of Delta Airlines Pilot,
Captain Robert Donald Craft. Captain Craft had a 30 year career with Delta Air
Lines, hired February 26, 1973 and retired at mandatory age of 60 in 2003.
Captain Craft was based in Miami. Florida, Atlanta, Georgia, and Portland,
Oregon. Captain Craft flew International the majority of his 30 year career
crossing the Atlantic to Europe, the Pacific to Asia and many Delta routes to South America. One of his most memorable days in Commercial
Flying was on September 11, 2001. He was the Captain of Delta Flight 109,
originating in Madrid, Spain bound for Atlanta, Georgia. He & his fellow
Pilots together made the decision to make the difficult landing of their B-767ER
in the Azores at Santa Maria Island on a WWII Runway to ensure the safety of
their passengers and crew.
He met Alycia, the love of his life, and married in August 1977 at the
Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West Florida. Alycia who flew with Pan American
World Airways as a Flight Attendant & Purser from 1965 until 1991. After
Pan American went into bankruptcy, Alycia was hired by Delta Air Lines &
together Alycia & Bob flew many overseas trips together until 2002 when
Alycia retired. Bob's Retirement trip was Delta Flight from Milan, Italy to Atlanta in Jan. 2003
In 1979 Bob & Alycia purchased 150 Acres, with creeks and a 14 Acres
Lake, in Fayetteville, Georgia. During the 34 years they built a large barn, fenced all the land, then
purchased Beef cattle. Built 4 more Ponds, stocked them & one pond was with
a variety of Koi. In 1987,
The Craft's built their Dream Home, never to leave. Approaching Retirement
age, The Craft's purchased a 2nd home on Longboat Key, FL. on the Sarasota Bay
& The Inter Coastal Waterway.
After Retirement, their decision was to move full time to Florida and have
the best of both worlds, The Gulf of Mexico and the serenity of their beautiful
farm......Environ.
Memorial Service will be at a later date.
Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel in
charge.
Condolences
www.brownandsonsfuneral.com
--------------------------------------------------------------
Longboater Robert Craft takes final
flight
STEVE REID
Editor & Publisher
sreid@lbknews.com
No one loved his country, his wife, Alycia, and Longboat Key more than
long-time Emerald Harbor resident Robert Donald Craft.
Married 35 years, his dedication to Alycia is matched with two tours in
Vietnam piloting 1,172 missions in a C 130s, earning the Distinguished Flying
Medal and then flying for Delta in a 30-year piloting
career.........................................
Alycia and Bob Craft
And for a man who stopped counting when his plane took on 200 bullet holes,
Craft was a highly sensitive man who said he started reading the Bible for the
first time in Vietnam and was forced to reconcile what at first blush seemed
irreconcilable, valuing life while shooting at the enemy.
That experience turned Craft into the man he became, the man who married
Alycia, and the man who slipped into death by her side last Wednesday, April 10
at exactly 4 p.m. in the afternoon.
Last Monday morning, only two days before his passing, Bob’s mind was
lucid, his spirit strong and he found in his heart the will to talk.
“I wanted to be a pilot from the first day I saw an airplane,” Craft said.
It turns out that flying was part of Craft’s family life from his earliest
memories, flying and the Air Force was his life.
In fact, the Craft family served the country over many generations — five
generations served in the military dating back to the Revolutionary war.
Bob’s father, Robert Craft, joined the Air Corps in 1939
......................................................
Transformation
After flying 1,172 missions, Craft said he grew to question, resent and
grow troubled by the way soldiers were treated as much by the government as
anyone else.
Craft said he grew up with the attitude and practice of treating military
people and those who served with respect.
“My dad taught me we have to treat military people well, and to hold them
close to you and protect them. You make sure they eat first and you eat second.
In World War II, they threw everything at the soldiers, but in Vietnam, they
just used us up,” said Craft.......................
Bruce
