Robert G. Bob Cragg

Robert "Bob" Cragg of Emigrant, Montana and Algonquin, Illinois, died, Sunday, December 20, 2015, at the Bridger Healthcare Community in Bozeman, MT. A memorial service will take place 10:00 A.M., Thursday, January 7, 2016 at the Franzen-Davis Chapel, (118 North 3rd Street, Livingston) with Pastor Nathan Pittman of Mountain Bible Church officiating. Interment will be in Mountain View Cemetery with full veterans honors. In lieu of flowers, donations in Bobs memory to Mountain Bible Church, Livingston, Montana or a charity of your choice are preferred. Bob was born December 9, 1933, in Evanston Illinois, to Ralph and Helen (Essentrot) Cragg. He grew up in Park Ridge IL, and graduated from Main Township High School, and the University of Cincinnati. After graduating from Officer Candidate School in Newport Rhode Island in 1957, he began a career in the United States Navy. Bob served in the Navy for 30 years, rising to the rank of Captain. He had shipboard and shore duty in Hawaii, the Middle East, and Korea. His first ship was the USS Finch. Bob served as USS Finch Reunion Association treasurer and has attended many of the Finch ships reunions throughout the years. Following his retirement from the Navy, Bob worked in the Trades and Engineering Ministry of Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington IL. He met Ann Stewart Szyszko at Willow Creek, and they were married there on October 17, 1998. Bob and Ann honeymooned in Paradise Valley and fell in love with Montana. They built a vacation home in Paradise Valley in 2005, and spent six months of the year in Montana from that point on. In Montana Bob enjoyed fly fishing and taught Ann the sport. He also enjoyed camping, hiking, and flying radio controlled planes. During the winters, while Bob was working at Willow Creek, he went on annual serving trips to the Dominican Republic to help build and repair facilities for a partner church in Santo Domingo. Bob and Ann participated in Willow Creek study trips to Israel, Turkey, Italy, Greece, France, and Switzerland, and they served at Willow Creek conferences in Brazil and England. In addition to his wife, Ann, Bob is survived by his sister, Marene Guare, of Ocala FL, step-daughter, Elizabeth (Jeffrery) Tripp and granddaughter Samantha Tripp of Aurora CO, step-sons, James Szyszko and Thomas (Danielle) Szyszko, both of Shanghai, China, and his sister-in-law, Georgiena Cragg of Park Ridge, IL and Deerfield Beach, FL. He was pre-deceased by his parents and his brother, Ralph Cragg.