Crawford Richardson
September 4, 1932 – August 17, 2023
It is with great sorrow that NEFAR has learned of the death of Crawford Richardson, a longtime chief investigator with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).
A celebration of life service for Mr. Richardson will be held on Friday, August 25, 2023, at 11 am at Central CME Church, 4611 North Pearl Street Jacksonville, Florida 32206. The viewing will be held on Thursday, August 24, 2023, from 4 pm -7 pm at Holmes Glover Solomon Funeral Directors. The final disposition will take place at a time to be announced later at Jacksonville National Cemetery.
One of Mr. Richardson’s favorite sayings was “educate those who make an honest mistake and eliminate those who are crooked,” recalled NEFAR Chief Executive Officer William Glenn East.
Mr. Richardson joined NEFAR 26 years ago as an affiliate in 1997 and ended his membership three years later after he retired in 1999. At that time, he was working as a self-employed real estate office management consultant.
It was his longtime work prior, from 1981 to 1995, that he was known to many when serving as Investigative Supervisor for DBPR, where he supervised investigators working in the real estate commission’s criminal fraud and consumer complaints division.
“Crawford was the epitome of a true professional,” said Audrey Lackie, broker/owner of The Legends of Real Estate, who knew him for 32 years. “He was a mentor, a trainer, and over the years became a very dear friend. The thing about Crawford as an investigator was that he wanted to train people to make sure they did the right thing. He didn’t always want to crucify them. He, of course, did his job, but he also wanted people to understand right from wrong. He was definitely a man of faith. He worked with integrity and probably the best words to describe him are that he was a ‘true gentleman.’ He was the best of the best,” she said.
Mr. Richardson also served as an agent, office manager, and real estate instructor for Watson Realty Corp. from 1977 through 1981 before he decided to work with DBPR.
He also had a distinguished military career, which began in December 1948 and included a one-year stint in Vietnam in 1966 at Nha Trang Air Force Base. He retired as a Chief Master Sargeant in the United States Air Force in 1974 after serving from 1971 to 1973 as a senior enlisted advisor to the CIC.ASAFE.
Mr. Richardson studied English for a year at Jacksonville University in 1976 before transferring to Jones College where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration/Management. In joining the United States Air Force, he became an academic instructor at USAF Air University in 1963. He also studied a variety of courses with his eye on Business Administration/Management at UMGC Europe in Germany beginning in 1960. A native of Jacksonville, Mr. Richardson was a 1948 graduate of Stanton College Preparatory School.
“If I can help somebody as I pass along the way, then my living will not have been in vain,” was one of Mr. Richardson’s favorite quotes, according to his Facebook page.
