A Memorial service to honor the life of Mr. Melbourne Douglas “Skipper” Crawford, Jr., will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 29, 2025, at River Outreach Church, Pineville, with Pastor Dennis Dunn officiating, under the direction of Rush Funeral Home, Pineville.

Skipper, age 81, of Pineville, was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on August 20, 1944, and went to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, November 23, 2025, at Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria, with his loving wife by his side.

Skip grew up a farm boy in East Point, Louisiana, and graduated from Coushatta High School in 1962. He later attended McNeese State College in Monroe, Louisiana, where he was a proud member of the basketball team.

He honorably served twenty years in the United States Air Force. Following his military retirement, he worked as an office manager for Life of Georgia Insurance Company for several years. He then joined the Rapides Parish Police Jury, where he served faithfully until his retirement in 2009. Never one to remain idle, Skip went on to work for Jimbo James, transporting U.S.P. vehicles across the state.

Skipper was an active member of River Outreach Church, where he found joy in transporting people from their cars to the church doors in his “anointed taxie” golf cart. He never met a stranger and loved sharing jokes and stories to bring laughter to those around him. His warm spirit and joyful humor touched countless lives.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Melbourne and Kathleen Crawford.

He is survived by his loving wife of thirty-two years, Patricia Frazer Crawford; three children, Wade Crawford, Trinia Crawford, and Carrie Brashfield; three grandchildren, Taylor, Tucker, and Parker Crawford; and one sister, Donna Shield.

Friends may post online messages of condolences for the Crawford family by visiting http://www.rushfh.com

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