I have come to the conclusion that most of the stories I tell here are going to be sad ones. There will be an occasional Lazarus Finkelstein who was hale and hearty until he died at the age of nearly 110, but those stories are the exception. This week we will return to my own family - to the story of my cousin Billy Craig's wife Suzanne who died tragically in a fire on New Years Eve 1964:
MRS. WILLIAM CRAIG PERISHES IN
NEW YEARS EVE FIRE
Mrs. Susan Craig, 30, wife of William Craig, 35, of Fox Lake, died New Year's Eve in a fire which destroyed the home of her brother, Byron Nelson, 42, of Oak Lawn. Mrs. Craig's husband is the son of Raphael Craig and a nephew of Edward Craig of Lacon.
The blaze which is thought to have been caused by a discarded cigarette, occurred at 8929 S. 49th Street, Oak Lawn. Mrs. Craig's husband suffered cuts on his hands when he smashed an upstairs window in an attempt to rescue her from the bi-level home.
Her brother and his wife, Mary Ann, 33, were seriously burned. Their daughter Diane, 11, dropped from an upper window and escaped injury.
Mrs. Craig was the daughter of Mrs. Georgina Nelson. She is survived by her husband, three children, William, Kimberly and Michael; a brother, Byron Nelson, and a sister Betty Jane Heath.
Funeral services were held at 11 A.M. Monday at the Memorial Chapel, 5200 W. 95th Street. Burial was in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Lacon (Illinois) Home Journal - January, 1965
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| Suzanne Nelson Craig |
Although Suzanne's husband William (Billy)'s injuries were not life-threatening, he died just two years later in 1967 at the age of 37, leaving three orphaned children.
Suzanne is buried in the cemetery her family helped found, Oak Hill Cemetery in Chicago.
May the souls of Suzanne Adelia Nelson Craig and her husband William, rest in peace.
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