Kenneth Craig, Jr. - Originally from Highland, New York, and most recently of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Ken was born in 1932, in West Park, NY, to Elena Rider and Kenneth Craig Sr. He graduated from Highland High School in 1950, where he was the salutatorian of his class and a stand-out athlete in baseball, basketball, and football. He attended the New York Merchant Marine Academy at Ft. Schuyler, where he studied mechanical engineering.
He then enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he was sent to the Army Language School in Monterey, California, to learn Korean. He spent a year in Korea with the Army Security Agency, intercepting and interpreting enemy messages. He received a Good Conduct Medal for exemplary service.
In 1957, he married his high school sweetheart, Virginia Saitta, in Brooklyn, NY. They had a daughter, Allison, and later divorced. In 1962, he went to work for IBM, where he learned Computer Programming and became a Systems Analyst. He returned to school and in 1969, received his B.S. in Mathematics from SUNY New Paltz. In 1987, in Carmel, New York, he married Vera Garland and they spent 29 happy years, cruising the oceans, traveling the world, and enjoying family. His wife pre-deceased him in 2016. He is survived by his daughter, Allison (Stuart) Ober of Woodstock, NY, his son, Matthew (Emily) Garland of Wexford, Pennsylvania, his grandchildren Alexander Ober, Nathaniel Garland, Evangeline Garland, Erik (Diana) Berlin. Burial took place on Saturday, July 25, at Lloyd Union Cemetery, Highland.
To honor Ken’s life, his family will be establishing a sports scholarship in his name. If you wish to contribute, please contact a family member. Alternately, in the last few days of his life, Ken expressed an interest in supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The family would like to thank the dedicated staff of UPMC Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, and the staff of the Catskill Unit of the Ten Broeck Center, Kingston, NY for their outstanding care in the final days of Ken’s life. For online condolences, directions or to send the family a sympathy card, please visit our website at www.torsomemorial.com.