Mr. Jack Allen Cranford, 83, husband of Deborah B. Cranford and a resident of Melfa, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, at Nassawadox Rehabilitation and Nursing, Nassawadox.
A native of San Francisco, he was the son of the late Allen Leland Cranford and the late Thelma Skaug Cranford. Jack studied ecology at the University of Utah and physiology at San Francisco State University. He was the biology department associate head at Virginia Tech, retiring as an Associate Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Jack was also a coxswain in the U.S. Coast Guard and had served as commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three children, William “Taft” Durr II, Johnathan “Matthew” Durr, and Ashley Claire Rodeheaver; five grandchildren; and numerous other family members and friends.
A Celebration of Life service will be conducted Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Doughty Funeral Home. Military honors with bagpipes will be held at 5:30 p.m.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.doughtyfuneralhome.com
Arrangements were made by Doughty Funeral Home in Exmore.
