Craig Charles Pearson

Craig Charles Pearson, book collector, dancer, pocketknife and cereal enthusiast and man of very large words, passed away in his home on Smith Lake in Cullman, AL. on September 15th , 2021. He was born in Angola, Indiana on February 14th, 1956 and grew up in St.Petersburg, FL. He is survived by his father, Clair Pearson; his sister, Audie Kay Stelljes; her husband who was like a brother to him, Rick Stelljes; and his younger brother, Royce Pearson. His loving mother, Orla Pearson, is deceased. Craig married his high school sweetheart, Nina, upon graduation and then served one term in the United States Air Force. His educational accomplishments include a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History, a Masters in Health Informatics and an MBA. He had a successful career as an accomplished healthcare executive. Craig and Nina had two sons who were his pride and joy-- Adam, the oldest, who currently lives in Huntsville and Matt who currently lives in Nashville, TN. What his two sons remember best about their father was the ever-present and relentless “tickle claw” from their childhood, the wit and timing of his endless supply of puns and “dad jokes”, his sweet nature and inability to ever purposefully hurt someone’s feelings, his boundless support and the overwhelming pride he felt in every single one of their accomplishments. Craig took this pride to wonderful extremes sometimes when he would look at a question missed on one of their school quizzes and reply, “Wait a minute, I take exception with the wording…This is a bad question.” Craig schooled them on how to fish in fresh and salt waters, play various sports and fix a toilet. They also remember his near-Shakespearean vocabulary and deep level of intelligence steeped in a unique mixture of philosophy and pragmatism. They describe him as a true “mental giant.”One of his greatest qualities was as a loving and doting grandfather to his five grandchildren. He loved to read to them when they were toddlers and never tired of answering their endless questions about nature and life in general. He could often be found rolling around in the leaves or tossing a ball with his grandson, Campbell and chasing frogs and lizards with his granddaughters, Addie, Layla, Mattie Grace, and Bailey. Craig’s greatest loves outside his family were words, quotes, books, and debating important ideas, philosophies, and issues of the day. He was extremely well-read and loved to discuss and debate so much that he could and would take either side of any topic. He was the epitome of a gentle giant, extremely kind and everyone’s greatest cheerleader. He had great rhythm and loved music and dancing so much that he and Nina won both first AND second place in a jitterbug contest. Craig perhaps loved Nina, most of all. Since that moment they were soul mates, best friends and lifelong dance partners. Throughout the course of the illness that Craig finally succumbed to, Nina never left his side. Their love was as beautiful as the sunsets they watched over the lake every night. A small notebook could always be found in Craig’s pocket, which he commonly referred to as his “memory expansion card.” This notebook consisted of thoughts and quotes he wanted to remember but mainly of his daily to-do lists. One of the family’s inside jokes was that if you needed something from him you needed to make sure you got your request on his list. We can only guess what his to-do list would have consisted of in preparation for his own passing. We imagine it would have been pretty simple: kiss and dance with my wife, tell my sons how proud I am of them, hug and tickle my grandkids, eat a bowl of cereal. There will be a celebration of life at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to organizations that conduct Alzheimer’s prevention research such as New York-Presbyterian. Their donation site is www.AlzU.org.

Craig Charles Pearson

February 14, 1956 - September 15, 2021