Felix Crawford
Encyclopedia
Felix Conkling Crawford was a general dentist
in Plainview, Texas
, who was an officer of both the Texas
and national dental associations. He was president of the Texas Dental Association from 1988-1989 and received the "Distinguished Service Award" from the group. In 2001, he was elected the second vice president of the American Dental Association
at the annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri
. Crawford was a member of the International College of Dentists.
in west Texas
to Marshall Crawford, Sr., (1903-1984) and Lela Mary Crawford (1907-1988). In 1942, the family business was moved to Lamesa
, the seat of Dawson County, on the Texas South Plains
. The senior Crawford was a Firestone
tire
dealer and owned a home and automobile
supply company. Mrs. Crawford was a deputy tax collector
in the Dawson County Courthouse. Crawford attended public schools in Lamesa and was encouraged by his family dentist, Dr. H.M. Stover, to pursue a career in dentistry
.
He hence obtained his pre-dental degree from Texas Tech University
(then Texas Technological College) in Lubbock
. He then attended the Dental Branch of the University of Texas in Houston
, from which he graduated in 1963. In 1996, the UT Dental Branch named Crawford "Alumnus of the Year".
He served two years in the U.S. Army (1963-1965) and was stationed at Fort Carson
, near Colorado Springs
.
, north of Lubbock. He practiced for thirty-eight years until his retirement in 2003.
Crawford was president of his local South Plains District Dental Society in 1979-1980. He was a delegate to the Texas Dental Association's House of Delegates. He was a member of the TDA Council on Legislative Affairs and chaired DENPAC (the dentists' state political action committee
) from 1982-1989. After service on the board of directors, he was elected TDA president.
In 1990, Crawford helped to establish the Texas Dental Association Foundation to promote advancement of health care through continuing education for dentists.
Dr. Crawford was a delegate to the American Dental Association House of Delegates, and a member of the original ADA Committee on Chemical Dependency. He chaired the national American Dental Political Action Committee for two years and made more than forty trips to Washington, D.C.
, to lobby for issues important to dentists.
, the Plainview Country Club
, the Plainview Rotary Club, and the Plainview Toastmasters Club, which promotes effective public speaking
. Crawford was a former chairman of the Plainview-Hale County Board of Health
. He also served as a coach
for Young Men's Christian Association soccer, tiger league football
, and little league
baseball
.
Crawford was survived by his wife, Dr. Marian Perry Crawford (also born 1938), an educator; his daughter and son-in-law, Christin Kay Gray and her husband Floyd Eric Gray; his son, Boyd William Crawford (born 1970) and wife April Lynette Crawford (born 1972); two stepsons, Lee Perry; three grandchildren, Austin Crawford, Blake Crawford, and Dillon Gray, all of Mansfield, Texas
; one sister, Camilla Crawford Young (born 1927) of Chalfont, Pennsylvania
, and a brother, Marshall Crawford, Jr., of Houston.
Dr. Thomas C. Harrison of Katy
near Houston (born 1953), the 2007 president of the Texas Dental Association, said that Crawford was "one of those people who was always thinking of someone else."
Dr. Kathleen Nichols, a general dentist in Lubbock, agreed with Harrison: "He was one of the people who really influenced my decision to get involved. He gently guided me into becoming interested in the issues." Nichols, a past chairman of the TDA's Ethics and Judicial Affairs Council, said "there will be some big shoes to fill . . . He was incredible to me. I would hope that I can do for someone else what he did for me."
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
in Plainview, Texas
Plainview, Texas
Plainview is a city in and the county seat of Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 22,336 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Plainview is located at ....
, who was an officer of both the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and national dental associations. He was president of the Texas Dental Association from 1988-1989 and received the "Distinguished Service Award" from the group. In 2001, he was elected the second vice president of the American Dental Association
American Dental Association
The American Dental Association is an American professional association established in 1859 which has more than 155,000 members. Based in Chicago, the ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association and promotes good oral health to the public while representing the dental...
at the annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. Crawford was a member of the International College of Dentists.
Early years, education, military
Crawford was born in MidlandMidland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
in west Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to Marshall Crawford, Sr., (1903-1984) and Lela Mary Crawford (1907-1988). In 1942, the family business was moved to Lamesa
Lamesa, Texas
Lamesa is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Texas, United States. The population was 9,952 at the 2000 census. Located south of Lubbock on the Llano Estacado, Lamesa was founded in 1903. Most of the economy is based on cattle ranching and cotton farming. The Preston E...
, the seat of Dawson County, on the Texas South Plains
South Plains
South Plains is a vernacular term that refers to a region in West Texas consisting of the portion of the Llano Estacado extending south of the Texas Panhandle, centered at Lubbock. While prominent in the area of petroleum production, the South Plains is mainly an agricultural region, producing a...
. The senior Crawford was a Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
tire
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...
dealer and owned a home and automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
supply company. Mrs. Crawford was a deputy tax collector
Tax collector
A tax collector is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. Tax collectors are often portrayed in fiction as being evil, and in the modern world share a somewhat similar stereotype to that of lawyers....
in the Dawson County Courthouse. Crawford attended public schools in Lamesa and was encouraged by his family dentist, Dr. H.M. Stover, to pursue a career in dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
.
He hence obtained his pre-dental degree from Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
(then Texas Technological College) in Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
. He then attended the Dental Branch of the University of Texas in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, from which he graduated in 1963. In 1996, the UT Dental Branch named Crawford "Alumnus of the Year".
He served two years in the U.S. Army (1963-1965) and was stationed at Fort Carson
Fort Carson, Colorado
Fort Carson is a United States Army installation located near Colorado Springs, primarily in El Paso County, Colorado. It is north of Pueblo, Colorado in Pueblo County. The 137,000 acre installation extends south into Pueblo and Fremont counties...
, near Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
.
Dental association activities
In 1965, Crawford opened his dental office in Plainview, the seat of Hale CountyHale County, Texas
Hale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 36,602. It was organized in 1888, and is named for Lt. John C. Hale, a hero of the Battle of San Jacinto. The seat of the county is Plainview. It is home of the noted former Hale County Judge, Judge Bill...
, north of Lubbock. He practiced for thirty-eight years until his retirement in 2003.
Crawford was president of his local South Plains District Dental Society in 1979-1980. He was a delegate to the Texas Dental Association's House of Delegates. He was a member of the TDA Council on Legislative Affairs and chaired DENPAC (the dentists' state political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
) from 1982-1989. After service on the board of directors, he was elected TDA president.
In 1990, Crawford helped to establish the Texas Dental Association Foundation to promote advancement of health care through continuing education for dentists.
Dr. Crawford was a delegate to the American Dental Association House of Delegates, and a member of the original ADA Committee on Chemical Dependency. He chaired the national American Dental Political Action Committee for two years and made more than forty trips to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, to lobby for issues important to dentists.
Civic leadership
Crawford's extensive community service included presidencies of the Plainview Chamber of CommerceChamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, the Plainview Country Club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
, the Plainview Rotary Club, and the Plainview Toastmasters Club, which promotes effective public speaking
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
. Crawford was a former chairman of the Plainview-Hale County Board of Health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
. He also served as a coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
for Young Men's Christian Association soccer, tiger league football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, and little league
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
.
Crawford's death and legacy
Crawford died at the Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock. Services were held on January 26, 2007, at the First United Methodist Church in Plainview with Dr. Lewis Holland and Dr. Max Browning officiating. Burial was in Plainview Memorial Park in Plainview.Crawford was survived by his wife, Dr. Marian Perry Crawford (also born 1938), an educator; his daughter and son-in-law, Christin Kay Gray and her husband Floyd Eric Gray; his son, Boyd William Crawford (born 1970) and wife April Lynette Crawford (born 1972); two stepsons, Lee Perry; three grandchildren, Austin Crawford, Blake Crawford, and Dillon Gray, all of Mansfield, Texas
Mansfield, Texas
Mansfield is a city in Ellis, Johnson, and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 56,368.In 2009, CNN/Money Magazine rated Mansfield as one of the "Best Places to Live" in the United States, ranking 24th out of the top 100 places.-History:The first...
; one sister, Camilla Crawford Young (born 1927) of Chalfont, Pennsylvania
Chalfont, Pennsylvania
Chalfont is a home rule municipality located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,009 at the 2010 census.Chalfont is named after Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, England...
, and a brother, Marshall Crawford, Jr., of Houston.
Dr. Thomas C. Harrison of Katy
Katy, Texas
Katy is a city located in Harris, Fort Bend and Waller Counties in the U.S. state of Texas, within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area...
near Houston (born 1953), the 2007 president of the Texas Dental Association, said that Crawford was "one of those people who was always thinking of someone else."
Dr. Kathleen Nichols, a general dentist in Lubbock, agreed with Harrison: "He was one of the people who really influenced my decision to get involved. He gently guided me into becoming interested in the issues." Nichols, a past chairman of the TDA's Ethics and Judicial Affairs Council, said "there will be some big shoes to fill . . . He was incredible to me. I would hope that I can do for someone else what he did for me."