George Crawford

George Crawford, 81, of Drexel, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on the morning of December 13th, 2025 in Asheville, NC. He was born on February 25, 1944 to Elmer and Ruth Crawford and grew up in the mountains of Avery County— surrounded by people who believed in working hard and meaning what they said.

He served as a Private in the US Army throughout the Berlin Wall Crisis, Operation Big Lift, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the effects of his service stayed with him far beyond his time in uniform— you could see it in the way he took responsibility without hesitation and stood firm when life pressed in around him.

Not long after returning home in 1964, he reconnected with a former classmate, Linda Teague at the Drexel Fair. They married in 1966 and built their life in Drexel, raising their sons Kevin and Shane, and later welcoming Georgia Reese Greer into the family. Their house was a place people passed through easily— kids coming in and out, neighbors dropping by, supper stretching to fit whoever pulled up a chair.

When he was around thirty, George would say that “God got ahold of him.” He began studying the Scriptures with the same deliberate earnestness he brought to everything else. As his faith deepened, he followed where he felt the Lord nudging him— filling in at churches that needed an interim pastor, joining mission work overseas, serving in the deaf ministry. He stayed only as long as he was needed, moving on when he sensed the Holy Spirit prodding him forward. He often reminded people that he was “just a teacher,” and that was how he lived his calling. One of the verses he held closest was 2 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away,” and it was a promise he carried with him his whole life.

George was the kind of man who showed up. He helped where help was needed: at a grocery store, on the back of a moving truck, up and down Burke County roads, in any ministry that asked for a pair of willing hands. People took to him fast; something about him just had a way of making a stranger feel like they belonged. He was direct— blunt at times— but there was a kindness to him that never wavered.

To his family, he was steady and dependable— someone whose presence carried weight. And for those who loved him, his imprint remains: in the slow unfolding of the Blue Ridge mountains, in the soft rise of a hymn you didn’t realize you were humming, in a line from A.J. Russell’s God Calling that settles on you the way his words used to.

Those left to cherish his memory include his wife, Linda Teague Crawford; sons: Kevin Crawford (Angie) and Shane Crawford (Dawn); daughter, Georgia Reese Greer (Chad); grandchildren: Zac Greer (Emily), Spencer Greer (Katie), Blake Crawford (Rachel), Caleb Crawford, Allie Crawford Strebeck (Tom), Lizzie Crawford, Ian Crawford, and Gabe Crawford; great-grandchildren Daniel, Madelyn, Sadi, and Elijah Greer; sister, Betty Fox; a number of brothers-in law and sisters-in law and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers: Cecil Crawford (Pauline), Jimmy Crawford, Steve Crawford, and Wayne “Pete” Crawford; and his sisters: Jean Ollis (Phillip) and Helen Buchanan.

The family will receive friends from 5pm until 8pm, Saturday, December 20, 2025 at Sossoman Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held at 2pm, Sunday, December 21, 2025 at Praise Assembly of God Church, 873 US 70, Morganton, NC 28655, with the Rev. John Henderson officiating. Burial will follow at Park Hill Memorial Garden.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Valor Hospice and Caldwell County Honor Guard.

Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family with the arrangements.