By Jolene Farley
Long-time Beaver Creek resident and community leader Howard Crawford died Monday, Dec. 30.
Known as a talented businessman and nice person, Crawford was respected throughout the region.
Crawford was known as "a good operator," according to Richard Bakken, whose father, Obed, served on the Beaver Creek Co-op Elevator board with Crawford for many years.
A prominent cattleman during a boom time in the cattle industry around Hills and Beaver Creek, Crawford kept himself well-informed on modern ways to operate in the agriculture and cattle industries.
"He was a person who was well thought of in the community," said Bakken, rural Garretson, S.D. "People respected his opinion on things."
During his years of service to the community, Crawford was active in many areas.
He oversaw much of the rebuilding of the Beaver Creek Co-op Elevator, at triple the capacity, after it was destroyed by fire on Dec. 26, 1970.
He replaced R.C. Juhl, who was finishing his term as President of the Beaver Creek Co-op Elevator when the fire occurred.
Crawford found his 23 years on the Beaver Creek School Board and Hills-Beaver Creek School Board very rewarding, according to his son, Roland Crawford.
"He really enjoyed the school board, the communities and such," said Roland.
Crawford was on the Beaver Creek School Board when work began on the consolidation of the Hills and Beaver Creek districts.
"He was really instrumental," said Roland. "I remember him working out in the yard and they (Hills board members) came and asked him. He worked hard to convince the Beaver Creek community."
Gordon Helgeson, Beaver Creek, served on the school board with Crawford from 1942 through 1945.
"He was a super nice person," he said. "He worked hard and he was just a good all-around man."
A lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church of Beaver Creek, Crawford served as an elder, a Sunday school teacher and a member of the building committee.
He served on numerous boards, including the Beaver Creek Co-op Lumberyard board.
Active in the Rock County Cattlemen’s Association, he was also a 4-H leader for future farmers in the area.
He was a member of the Masonic Ben Franklin Lodge in Luverne and the El Raid Shrine of Sioux Falls.
Funeral services were Friday, Jan. 3.