William Crawford Obituary

William Edward "Bill" Crawford, passed away on January 2, 2021. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Felder Crawford and Elizabeth Cooper Crawford, sister, Lucile Crawford Mittelbronn, brother, John Felder Crawford, Jr., son, Andrew Douglas Crawford, and grandson, Brandon William Crawford. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Sandra Holmes Shuler Crawford, son, William Edward Crawford, Jr., (wife Cassie), son John Felder Crawford II, (wife Stephanie) and their children Jane-Elsie Joy and Mary Clayton, and grandson, Andrew Douglas Crawford, Jr., as well as many other family members and friends. Bill was born on December 15, 1927. A Key West, Florida, native and valedictorian of his Ponchatoula High School class, Bill enrolled at L.S.U. after being drafted into the U.S. Army during World Was II. He earned an Air Force ROTC commission as Cadet Colonel and received his B.A. in 1951, from L.S.U. He served in the Korean conflict in the U.S. Air Force in Wilmington, Delaware, at the Base JAG Office as a 1st Lieutenant. Upon returning to Baton Rouge, he received his J.D. in 1955, from the L.S.U., Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Bill was a member of Sigma Chi, President of the colonizing chapter for Phi Beta Kappa, and was Editor-in-Chief of the Louisiana Law Review. Upon graduation, he joined the New Orleans firm of Chaffe, McCall and was elected to serve as Secretary-Treasurer of the Louisiana State Bar Association for two terms from 1960 to 1962. In 1965, he received a call from Paul M. Hebert, Dean of the L.S.U. Law School, who asked if he might be interested in returning to the law school as assistant dean and professor of law. Thus, Bill began his 53 year teaching career where he taught Torts, Louisiana Civil Procedure, Products Liability, Security Devices, and Legal Ethics. During his time at the L.S.U. Law Center, he became assistant dean in 1966, associate professor in 1969, and professor of law in 1971. He was awarded the James J. Bailey Professorship in Law in 1985. In 2003, his students honored him as Distinguished Professor of the Year as did the Louisiana Bar Foundation. He taught six summers in Greece with the Tulane summer law program. He has been credited with writing 16 books or chapters in books along with 25 articles and 155 citations in various legal publications. He also served as the Director of the Louisiana State Law Institute from 1978 to 2018. In 1996, he served as lead counsel for Governor Foster's Tort Reform legislation. He also served as Special Master to the U.S. District Court in Bankruptcy Litigation. He retired from teaching on January 1, 2020. He loved teaching and interacting with his students. Above all, he loved his family. He also enjoyed family trips to Pensacola, camping with his sons, tennis, waterskiing, fishing, and hunting. Bill has touched many lives and will be dearly missed. Due to the virus, a private family burial service officiated by Rev. Lynn Clayton will be held. The family will hold a memorial service at a later date. Donations in his memory can be made to the William E. Crawford Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has been established with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, 100 North Street, Suite 900, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70802.