Thank you for the beautiful service today. I went straight from it to the theater to get ready for a show, which I'm sure Craig would appreciate. Now that I'm home I wanted to share some words I wrote for John Moore's article about Craig. Understandably, he couldn't use them all so I thought I would post them here. I work at Buntport Theater and we saw Craig all the time at our shows. <3

I just looked back at a few reviews that Craig wrote about Buntport over the years. At the end of one, he quotes the show:

“Tommy Lee Jones (the puppet) states at one point that 'art may be the saving grace of our civilization.'”

I like that he pulled that quote because I think Craig may have believed that. He certainly lived like he did, consuming theater at an astounding pace. At Buntport we knew right away that Craig really loved theater. Sure, at one point it was part of his job to watch theater. But he came all the time – often to things that weren't reviewable because they weren't repeating. He brought his children to tRUNks every other week, he came to debates and other one-offs, he wrote thoughtful reviews of full-length shows, and he kept coming just as often after he was no longer reviewing. When we got the call that Craig had passed away, we said the not-very-logical thing that people often say when learning of someone's death: “But we just saw him...”. Because we had. He had been at a recent show, moved outdoors to our parking lot for safety. Not seeing Craig at a show was far more unusual for us than seeing him. He believed in the art of it. He believed in the humanity of it. He believed in the importance of championing it. To quote him again: “We connect, we laugh, we think, and we are entertained. What more can we ask from theater?”

Dear Phillip, Duncan and Charlotte,   

I was so sad to hear about your loss.  Although I had never met your parents before,  they  were both very helpful to me!  They selflessly  contributed their time and efforts to help me with  costumes and lighting for my summer music theatre camps during the years you boys  volunteered your time to run lights.  I'm ever grateful.  What a wonderful, kind family!  I'm SO sorry for your loss.  My sincere condolences.   You are in my thoughts and prayers.  Marcie Dlin

What do you say about the person that changed the course of your life? Craig inspired my great love for Statistics and the reason I grew into my career. It still amazes me how often I find myself saying, "Craig would find this funny," or "Craig would probably have an extremely long footnote for this." In both my professional and personal life, I simply cannot express how much he inspired me and how much he means to me. 

I first met Craig when we worked together at Primen close to 20 years ago. We had offices next to each other and his infectious smile greeted me every morning. He was so much fun to work with: brilliant and funny (and modest). His enthusiasm for statistics knew no bounds. He spent hours helping my daughter with her middle school science fair project. He cared so deeply about the work, and about all the people he worked with.  We had so many conversations, ranging from the best temperature at which to brew different kinds of tea, to remembering to use the declarative article when talking driving directions with our CA friends, to current theater productions, to family. Always family. It's been years since we worked together, though we saw each other regularly at conferences. Immediately, he would tell me with great delight what Phillip, Duncan, and Charlotte were doing. He was so proud of all of you and loved you so much.  

May his memory be a blessing.

It's hard to know exactly how much Craig changed the lives of our entire family, but it's safe to say his impact was pretty powerful. One night about 12 years ago, at JUC's First Friday, Tripp played a guitar tune that mentioned Scotland. Craig approached him afterward and asked if he had a particular interest in Scotland. Tripp replied, "Well, I've always wanted to play the bagpipes." (I had known Tripp 18 years at this point and had never heard that!) Craig gave him the name of a couple good teachers and mentioned that his kids participated with the Colorado Youth Pipe Band. The rest is history!

Tripp has been playing pipes ever since and teaching at CYPB almost as long, and I'm just about the finish a 5-year stint on the CYPB Board, the last three as President. Highland dance and tenor drumming remain Brynn's main extracurriculars and her major source of friends outside school. Maggie started playing snare drums with CYPB. She had such a great experience, she wanted to try kit drumming...and then guitar...and now is a recorded music student at NYU's Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music. I wonder if she would have ended up where she is if it weren't for Craig's interest in Scotland, his friendliness, and his connections.  Our connection with CYPB probably also helped connect me with Charlotte as her mentor during her Coming of Age year at JUC, which was a fabulous experience!

Despite this amazing impact on our lives, my fondest memories of Craig are mostly through JUC. He and I were involved in a couple groups together (teaching at JUC and UU the Vote), and his joie de vivre made any experience (even meetings) better. In recent years, he'd become a regular at our movie parties. Conversation was always deeper, more open, and more fun when he was in attendance. He seemed eager to talk about everything, including the unexpected fortune of finding himself in a romantic relationship shortly after starting to date again, with someone who appreciated that he had enough love to remain devoted to Marlene and make room for a new relationship. It was always inspirational to be around Craig and his joyful openness to experience, even the crappiest of experiences like losing a spouse. It is a tragedy that a live so well-lived ended sooner than expected, but his life was a gift to all of us.